Key Suspect In Punjab Kabaddi Player's Murder Killed In Police Encounter

Two days after a 30-year-old kabaddi player was shot dead in the middle of a tournament in Punjab's Mohali, the main accused, Harpinder alias Middu, was killed in a police encounter.

Harpinder, a resident of Naushehra Pannuan in the Tarn Taran district, was injured in a fire exchange during the encounter and later died due to injuries in a hospital, Mohali police said.

Two police officers were also injured in the encounter and are undergoing medical treatment. 

Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was involved in multiple heinous crimes and has a serious criminal background, the police said.

On Monday evening, a kabaddi player-cum-promoter, Kanwar Digvijay Singh, alias Rana Balachauria, was critically injured after he was shot during a kabaddi tournament at the Bedwan Sports Club in the Sohana area of Mohali. He was rushed to Fortis Hospital, where he was declared dead.

The attacker, who arrived on a motorcycle, fired multiple shots at Balachauria from a .30 bore weapon, causing panic among the crowd. 

The Mohali Police on Tuesday said three suspects, including two shooters, had been identified -- Aditya Kapoor, alias Makhan, and Karan Pathak, alias Defaulter Karan, both residents of Amritsar, who allegedly killed Balachauria. They are associated with a gang that orchestrated the killing, the police said. 

Police speculate that the gang wanted to exert its dominance over Kabaddi tournaments and considered the player close to jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, news agency PTI reported.