2 bros suffer bullet wounds in clash

Times News NetworkLudhiana: Two groups of men indulged in a clash at Jain Colony of Daba road on Monday morning. The clash turned ugly when one group fired gunshots leaving two injured. Prior to this, both groups had pelted stones and bricks at each other.After the firing, the accused escaped from the spot and the injured men, Maninder Singh alias Baba, 26 and Ranbeer Singh alias Laddu, 25, were rushed to hospital. The siblings from Kabir Nagar are undergoing treatment at SPS Hospital, Sherpur Chowk. Inderjit Singh, who accompanied the brothers said, “On Monday morning, I had gone to meet my friends Maninder and his brother Ranbeer. Meanwhile, Harsh Mahajan, a resident of Jain Colony called and asked to meet. The brothers asked me to accompany them and I agreed. Maninder, Ranbeer and I left the house in a car. On reaching the spot, we realized that Harsh was accompanied by several youngsters. We found it risky and refused to talk to them.”He added that when they tried to go away, the accused intercepted them and attacked the brothers with sharp-edged weapons. “Maninder and Ranbeer also fought back but the accused had a gun and started firing at them. Two bullets hit Maninder on his leg and arms while Ranbeer took a bullet injury on his arm. The accused fired at least six bullets,” claimed Inderjit Singh.A shopkeeper who tried to intervene also sustained minor injuries. The victims’ father Bant Singh said that his sons had some rivalry with Harsh Mahajan, who called them on the pretext of resolving differences. However, Mahajan had already planned to kill his sons, Maninder and Ranbeer.Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) - Industrial Area B Sandeep Vadhera said, “Maninder and Harsh Mahajan had an old rivalry. Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Maninder on the complaint of Harsh. They had an altercation on the night of Lohri too. On Monday, Harsh called Maninder to resolve the matter.”Preliminary investigations revealed that Harsh’s brother-in-law (sister’s husband) Vinod Raj, a lawyer in Chandigarh, had also come to Ludhiana. They gathered some more men to meet Maninder and tried to resolve the issues but failed. It was found that Vinod Raj had fired the gunshots. Police are verifying if he possesses a licensed weapon, ACP Vadhera said.The official said that both victims are undergoing operation at the hospital. Police will record their statements after doctors declare them fit.