Mohali: Karan ‘Defaulter’ Pathak, the main shooter in the murder of kabaddi player-promoter Rana Balachauriya at a tournament a month ago, was gunned down in an encounter in Mohali after escaping from custody, police said on Saturday.Karan broke out of custody, in spite of being handcuffed, on Friday night, triggering a desperate search, say police. After seven hours, he was traced to a location on Airport Road, close to his native village in Kharar. Challenged, he allegedly fired at police, who fired back, injuring him fatally.
Karan was arrested from Howrah, West Bengal, on Jan 12 and kept at the CIA staff headquarters thus far for security reasons.
Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans said Pathak complained of chest pain on Friday night. A police team was taking him to a hospital in Kharar when he began scuffling with the cops, causing the vehicle to lose control and crash into a road divider, said police. When the police personnel got out of the vehicle to assess the situation, Pathak allegedly freed himself from his handcuffs and sprinted away.Senior officers were alerted and police teams from Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ropar districts were pressed into the search operation immediately. Police received information that Pathak was hiding near his native village Rurki in Mullanpur. When a team went to the location and tried to surround him, he allegedly tried to escape and began firing at the police.Police said the accused fired six to seven rounds, during which a police personnel sustained a bullet injury. In retaliatory firing, Pathak was hit. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors referred him to a govt hospital, but he died of his injuries, said police.SSP Hans said a .30 bore pistol was recovered from the accused. Police are investigating how Pathak procured the weapon during the six-seven hours he remained on the run. Separate FIRs have been in connection with his escape and the encounter. This is the second encounter linked to the Rana Balachauriya murder case. On Dec 17, 2025, another key accused, Harpinder Singh alias Middu, 30, a resident of Tarn Taran, was shot dead at Lalru in Mohali.
Two head constables, Gulab Singh and Kumar Sharma, were injured in that exchange of fire.
