A 31-year-old property dealer was shot dead in broad daylight outside a gym in the upscale market and high-security area of Chandigarh's Sector 9 on Wednesday, triggering panic. This is the second firing incident in less than 24 hours in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Two men on a motorcycle opened fire at close range at Charanpreet Singh, a resident of New Chandigarh, leaving him bleeding with bullet injuries, and fled from the scene. Charanpreet Singh had come to the Body Zone gym. As he was about to enter his car in the nearby parking, the assailants fired at least eight rounds at him, according to initial police inputs.
He sustained multiple gunshot injuries, including to his arm and torso, and collapsed inside the vehicle. Eyewitnesses said he slumped over the driver’s seat immediately after the firing. He was rushed to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) by his associates, but succumbed to blood loss on the way.
Mystery continued over the motive behind the killing. The police suspect the crime could be linked to personal or business rivalry. Earlier, assailants entered the campus of Panjab University on Tuesday night on a two-wheeler and fired two shots into the air near the Department of Botany and threatened a former student leader who was present at the spot.
It is suspected to be a gang-related shooting. The accused then fled from the crime scene after snatching a motorcycle at gunpoint. Multiple police teams and FSL rushed to the scene. CCTV footage in and around Panjab University showed four suspects fleeing, prompting police to widen the search operation.
Soon after Tuesday's firing, gangster Doni Bal and his associate Shaganpreet, linked to the Bambiha gang, allegedly claimed responsibility on social media for targeting the SOPU student leader and threatened violence against anyone joining the group.