The Tribune, January 12, 2004

2 shot, one hurt in group clash
Our Correspondent

Panipat, January 11
Two youths were shot while one sustained serious injuries when five assailants opened fire indiscriminately at Norwala village, about 5 km from here, last night. Old-time rivalry between groups is believed to be the cause behind the incident. Sandeep along with his friend Raju visited his sister’s house in Moti Ram Colony of the village last night. The incident took place at around 9.15 pm when after spending a few minutes at the house, the two left for the market to purchase audio cassettes. They had just moved out of the house, when the assailants, who were standing a few meters away, started firing. After firing shots for about 10 minutes, the assailants fled in a Maruti car.

Talking to this reporter, a villager said no one dared to move out of his house for a few minutes after the incident because of the fear of being caught in cross-firing. He added that he had learnt that the victims had tried to run away from the scene after seeing the assailants, but as they were trapped in the middle of the road, they had no place to escape. The two died on the spot while one passerby sustained serious injuries and was admitted to the Civil Hospital.

The Superintendent of Police, Dr Suman Manjry, said the two youths had been involved in several criminal cases in Bahadurgarh and also some other status. The cause of the murders was old-time rivalry of the youths with some groups in Bahadurgarh. The police was investigating the matter. Police sources said the brother of Raju was also killed last year in January following old rivalry. Thereafter, Raju along with his friends had attacked the persons who were responsible for his brother’s death. Due to the rivalry between the two groups, Raju’s parents had advised him to stay with his sister in Panipat. Raju and Sandeep, who hail from Bahadurgarh, were living in Hari Singh Colony in the city for the past some time.