CHANDIGARH: Three men, including two shooters, were arrested after an encounter with the Chandigarh Police Crime Branch near the Sector 39 Grain Market in connection with a firing incident at a pharmacy in Sector 32, in which two of the accused were injured in retaliatory firing.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team signalled a car to stop at a checkpoint near Sector 39 during routine checking. However, the occupants attempted to flee and opened fire at the police personnel. In retaliatory firing, two of the accused — identified as Rahul and Rocky — sustained bullet injuries in their legs. They were shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 16, for treatment. The third accused, Preet, who was allegedly driving the car, was arrested at the spot.
Two pistols and the vehicle used by the accused were recovered. Police said interrogation of the injured and arrested men is underway, and the role of other associates, including possible links to a gangster network and a suspected police personnel accomplice, is being thoroughly investigated.
Sources said the Crime Branch had earlier arrested Rahul Bisht of Sector 46. During the investigation, it was revealed that Bisht ran a laboratory in Sector 32 with a policeman as a partner and later conspired to carry out the firing at the pharmacy.
During the firing incident at Sevak Pharmacy, the shop owner’s son, Tanish, who was present at the counter, narrowly escaped injury and immediately informed his family. The shop owner, Jagdish, a resident of Sector 32, later reached the spot and provided details to the police.
Following the incident, teams from the Sector 34 police station, the Crime Branch, Operation Cell and the District Crime Branch rushed to the scene. A forensic team recovered one empty cartridge from the spot. CCTV footage showed two youths arriving on an Activa scooter, opening fire at the pharmacy and fleeing, which helped police identify the accused.