Youth shot dead during police-cattle smuggler chase in Ambala village

AMBALA: A 32-year-old worker on his way home was shot dead in the wee hours of Saturday — caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when police were pursuing a gang of cow smugaglers in Tundla area of Ambala district. It’s not clear who fired the fatal shot.The victim, Gurpreet Singh , was returning to Garnala village with a friend when the incident happened around 1.50am on Saturday, less than 5km from his home.Gurpeet’s friend, who was riding pillion, said: “We left our workplace at 1:30am and had just reached Tundla turn when we saw three cars approaching from the front. It appeared an SUV was being chased by two police vehicles.We heard gunshots just as the vehicles passed us and headed towards Tundla village. A bullet hit Gurpreet.” With Gurpreet mortally wounded, the bike crashed, throwing both of them on the road. “I removed his helmet and saw he was bleeding. He died moments later,” said the friend, adding: “I don’t know if the bullet was fired by police or cattle smugglers.”SP Ajay Singh Shekhawat said the area SHO and a PCR vehicle started chasing the SUV on noticing suspicious behaviour. “During the pursuit, the suspects fired at police, who retaliated. It was late at night and dark,” he said.The SP said it was apprehended the suspects fired at the bike, thinking another police team was closing in from the front. “It could be that the man was shot during the pursuit. Things will be clear once the suspects are arrested,” he said.The accused left their vehicle at some distance and ran into the sunflower fields towards a jungle, say police. “Whose bullet hit the deceased will be ascertained by post-mortem, forensic and ballistic reports. We have deployed six special teams to trace the accused,” said SP Shekhawat.A case has been registered at Panjokhra Sahib police station.Haryana cabinet minister Anil Vij met the bereaved family and asked the SP to take swift action. Who fired the bullet will be confirmed after the post-mortem examination, he said, adding that two cows were rescued from the smugglers’ vehicle.