Bouncer’s murder in Kharar: Two shooters land in police net after gunfight

The two assailants, who had shot dead a 30-year-old bouncer at Kharar’s Chando village in a brazen broad daylight attack on Tuesday, were arrested following an encounter with Mohali police’s special cell on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Vikram Rana, alias Happy, 23, of Teur village and Kiran Singh, alias Dhanua, 23 of Kharar, suffered six bullet injuries in the gunfight. They were admitted to the Mohali civil hospital with three bullet injuries each in the legs and abdomen, but are out of danger, according to police.

Police recovered a motorcycle and a country-made .32-bore pistol from the accused, besides six live cartridges.

The shooters, according to police, are members of the Lucky Patial group, closely associated with the Davinder Bambiha gang that had claimed responsibility for the attack through a social media post shortly after the murder.

The post had claimed that fugitive gangster Lucky Patial, who leads the gang from Armenia, got Kumar killed to avenge the murder of Meet Bouncer.

The accused are in their mid 20s, with Kiran already named in two cases of robbery and Arms Act at the City Kharar police station.

Mohali SSP Sandeep Kumar Garg said the shooters were identified by the special cell using human and technical intelligence.

Police received information that they were present in Mullanpur on Thursday. Acting swiftly, a team led by DSP Gursher and inspector Shiv Kumar rushed to the area, where they spotted their abandoned Hero Splendor.

“The accused were hiding in the roadside bushes. Since they are drug addicts, they were possibly consuming drugs. Spotting police vehicles, they ran towards their bike, while opening four rounds at the police team. In response, police fired seven bullets, six of which hit the accused,” the SSP said.

The victim in the Tuesday shooting was Munish Kumar Rana, alias Manni of Teur village, Kharar.

Garg added that both accused Vikram and victim Munish were residents of the same village and held a grudge against each other due to an old dispute. “Vikram had joined the victim’s rival gang that was looking to eliminate Munish, and conducted a recce using his cousin’s motorcycle,” SSP added.

The victim, who is married, was attending a phone call with a female friend while riding his motorcycle when he was shot at.

As per investigators. Munish was named in three criminal cases, including attempt to murder and attempt to commit culpable homicide, registered at the Sector 26, Mataur and Kurali police stations, respectively.

Investigators said the murder was a fallout of a gang war between two groups of bouncers, known in their circles as Meet bouncer group and Sonu Shah bouncer group.

On November 6, 2016, both groups had exchanged gunfire, firing more than 70 rounds, near the Phase 8 Dussehra ground in Mohali over supplying bouncers to commercial establishments in the tricity.

As per investigators, the gang war between the two groups first started in July 2016, when three men, including Munish Kumar, shot at Meet’s friend, bouncer-cum-gym trainer Akhil, at a gym in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

Notably, Akhil and Meet had hurled abuses at Munish, employed as a bouncer, leading him to nurse a grudge against them. Meet was subsequently shot dead in Saketri in 2017.