GOHANA: Sonipat police have arrested a 75-year-old former sarpanch for allegedly shooting dead a 28-year-old man following a road rage incident on the Delhi-Katra Expressway in Sonipat district. The accused, identified as Ramchandra Hooda, a native of Asan village in Rohtak district, was arrested within around 12 hours of the incident.Hooda had earlier served as the sarpanch of Asan village and was currently residing in Bharat Colony, Rohtak. He was produced before a court and remanded in police custody for two days. Police will question him about the weapon used in the crime and attempt to recover it. They will also investigate his criminal record.Baroda police station SHO Krishan Kumar said the police acted swiftly and arrested Hooda within around 12 hours. The registration number of the accused’s car, along with other evidence collected during the investigation, helped the police trace him. The police team tracked the vehicle using its registration number and subsequently arrested him. Kumar described the swift arrest as a major achievement for Sonipat police.Police spokesperson Ravinder Singh said Hariom, a resident of Roorkee in Rohtak, had lodged an FIR at Baroda police station on Wednesday. Hariom works as a maintenance executive manager with Day Back Outlet, while Prahlad, 28, originally from Rajguru Nagar in Ludhiana, Punjab, and currently residing in Tilak Nagar, Rohtak, worked as an assistant store manager with the company.According to the complaint, the company had opened a new clothing showroom in Kaithal on November 5. On Tuesday, Hariom and Prahlad travelled to Kaithal for company-related work. They were returning to Rohtak in a car late at night when another car rammed into their vehicle from behind near Baroda village on the Delhi-Katra Expressway. The driver of the other car then allegedly tried to flee.Hariom and Prahlad chased the vehicle for nearly two kilometres and managed to stop it. Prahlad got out of their car to speak to the driver, but an argument broke out between them. The accused allegedly pulled out a pistol, fired a warning shot into the air and then shot Prahlad. The bullet struck him near the shoulder, leaving him critically injured. He later succumbed to his injuries. The accused fled the spot after the shooting.During the investigation, police obtained the registration number of the accused’s car. By tracing the vehicle and examining other evidence, they established his identity and arrested him.According to police, Hooda had travelled to Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh around five days earlier to meet his family. His son lives there. He was returning to Rohtak from Dalhousie on Wednesday when his car allegedly hit Prahlad’s vehicle from behind near Baroda village on the Delhi-Katra Expressway. The subsequent confrontation reportedly led to the shooting.Police are also examining Hooda’s past conduct and checking whether he was involved in any other criminal cases. Whether the pistol was licensed or illegal will be established only after its recovery.SHO Krishan Kumar said the accused would be questioned during his two-day police remand about the weapon and other circumstances surrounding the incident.
