Man chases, shoots son dead; dies by suicide

Ludhiana: An ex-serviceman who worked as a security guard in a private bank shot his son dead in full public view at New Agar Nagar on Sunday night. The accused chased his son for at least 500 metres and shot him twice with his licensed .12-bore rifle. Later, the accused consumed a poisonous substance and ended his life.

Both deceased are Surinder Singh, 67, a retired havildar, and his son Gursharan Singh alias Ginni, 38, a taxi driver.

Area residents told the police that the father-son duo would often have arguments. According to reports, Surinder Singh’s wife passed away in 2019. His two daughters are settled abroad while he lived with his son Gursharan.

Inspector Vijay Chaudhary, SHO, Sarabha Nagar police station, said Gursharan had a dispute with his father, who turned on him later. When police reached their house, the main gate was bolted from inside.

When there was no response to repeated knocking, police broke the gate open.

“We found Surinder Singh unconscious in bed, foaming at the mouth. We rushed him to hospital but he died during treatment,” he said, adding that they had filed a murder FIR against Surinder.

Elaborating on the investigation so far, Chaudhary said the father and son would fight frequently but the reasons for their differences were not clear. Police also found dinner plates in the house, which indicated that the two were having dinner when they had an argument.

Surinder first fired at Gursharan but the bullet hit the wall. Gursharan ran out to save his life but Surinder chased him, police said.

Police have contacted Surinder’s daughters, from whom vital clues are expected.