CHANDIGARH: A tussle among rival gangsters over dominance in the organisation of kabaddi tournaments in Punjab has led to the killing of 30-year-old kabaddi player-cum-promoter Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria, who was shot dead in Mohali on Sunday evening.
He was killed by associates of gangsters Doni Bal and Lucky Patial. This is not the first such incident, as two well-known players of the sport have earlier been assassinated in similar circumstances.
Punjab Police have identified three alleged accused, including two shooters who fired multiple rounds at Balachauria. They have been named as Aditya Kapoor alias Makhan and Karan Pathak, both residents of Amritsar, with 13 and two FIRs registered against them respectively.
Police said the accused belong to the gang of Doni Bal and Lucky Patial. No arrests have been made so far.
According to police, the assailants fled on the Landran road after shooting Balachauria at point-blank range in the head and face during a private kabaddi tournament in Sector 82, Mohali, at around 6 pm.
The tournament had been under way for the past few days. Balachauria, who had got married around 10 to 15 days ago, was rushed to Fortis Hospital with gunshot injuries, but despite immediate clinical assessment, he was declared brought dead.
The tournament was being held at a packed ground, where Punjabi singer Mankirt Aulakh was also expected to attend the evening matches to distribute prizes.
Police said four rounds were fired by the two accused, who approached the victim on the pretext of taking a selfie and took him aside near the parking lot before shooting him at point-blank range. While fleeing the spot, the accused fired shots into the air to scare youths who attempted to chase them.
The police have linked the deceased to jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria in connection with dominance over the organisation of kabaddi tournaments.
Calling it a planned attack, Senior Superintendent of Police, SAS Nagar, Harmandeep Singh Hans said, “The identity of the third person has been withheld till now. The police have also zeroed in on a few individuals involved in providing shelter and logistics to the assailants. As of now, the deceased has no role or link in the Moosewala murder case. Twelve police teams have been formed to trace the alleged shooters, with two teams operating in Delhi and Amritsar.”
Hours after the shooting, gangster Doni Bal claimed responsibility for the killing in a Facebook post. The post read, “I, Donibal, Saganpreet, Mohabbat Randhawa, Amar Khabe, Prabh Daswal, and Kaushal Chaudhary, take responsibility for the killing of Rana Balachauria during the Kabaddi Cup in Mohali. This man (Rana) was in contact with our rivals Jaggu and Lawrence.”
The post further stated that the Saganpreet gang is closely linked to the Bambiha or Gopi Ghanshampur factions. “He had provided shelter to the killer of Sidhu Moosewala and personally looked after him. By killing Rana today, we have avenged the murder of our brother Sidhu Moosewala. This act was carried out by our brothers Makhan Amritsar and defaulter Karan,” it read.
The killing of Balachauria has revived memories of a similar incident three years ago, when another kabaddi player, Sandeep Nangal, was shot dead in Jalandhar district during a tournament at Mallian Kalan village. More recently, a 25-year-old kabaddi player, Teja Singh, was shot dead in broad daylight in Jagraon in October this year.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP slammed the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government over the Mohali incident, alleging a total collapse of law and order in Punjab.