Ludhiana: A 39-year-old father of two was shot dead and a friend injured when a minor collision between their friends’ scooter and a car triggered road-rage violence near Ludhiana’s clock tower just after midnight on Monday.The deceased, Harminder Singh, worked as a photographer, so does the survivor, 40-year-old Sanjiv Kumar.The duo had joined some friends at a restaurant to celebrate a birthday party, Sanjiv has told police. Around 12.30am, they decided to head for home.“Some of our friends were on a scooter while I, Harminder, and two others were in a car. The scooter hit a car near JMD mall but there was no major damage. We talked it out and moved ahead. Our friends on the scooter were just in front of us. Near the clock tower, the other group chased us and fired two bullets at us from the moving car. One struck Harminder in the neck and I was hit on my hand,” said Sanjiv.The attackers sped away. Friends took the injured duo to hospital where Harminder was declared dead.Harminder’s brother-in-law Gagandeep said his sister called him around 1am to say that Harminder had been shot. “We rushed to the hospital only to be told that he was no more. Harminder was not even at fault. His friends had an argument with the car occupants,” he said.ADCP-1 Sameer Verma said police have identified the accused and arrested some of them. Raids are on to nab the rest. All the suspects have criminal histories and used an illegal firearm, he said, adding: “The investigation so far suggests that the incident occurred after a minor dispute as two vehicles collided. No rivalry angle has been found yet.”
