Ludhiana: A five-year-old girl’s birthday celebration in New Azad Nagar descended into violence on Sunday night after a dispute over a blocked street led to a physical assault and an attempted shooting.Police have booked four local men after a food cart vendor’s frustration over a party tent reportedly escalated into a targeted attack. The complainant, Ajay Kumar, 34, has told police he was celebrating his daughter Mansi’s sixth birthday on Jan 25. To accommodate relatives visiting from Uttar Pradesh, Ajay Kumar had erected a tent in the street outside his home.
The confrontation began at about 10.45pm when a neighbour, whom police identified as Vaneet Kumar, attempted to pass the tent with his food cart. “I asked him to park the cart near the tent and said he could take it home once the party ended shortly,” Ajay Kumar told police. “However, Vaneet, who was inebriated, began arguing with me.”The dispute turned physical moments later when Vaneet allegedly returned with three accomplices — Ravi Khacchar, Mani Khacchar, and Ranveer Kapoor. The group reportedly dragged the father from his home and began beating him up. The situation nearly turned fatal when two of the men, Ravi and Mani Khacchar, allegedly produced a firearm. “They flashed the gun and tried to fire a shot,” Ajay Kumar said. “Fortunately, the gun jammed and failed to discharge.“The suspects fled the scene shortly after the weapon malfunctioned. Assistant sub-inspector Resham Singh, the investigating officer from the Daba police station, confirmed that Vaneet Kumar has been taken into custody. “We have registered a case against all the accused,” ASI Resham Singh said. “Raids are being conducted to apprehend the remaining suspects.”The accused face multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 115 (2) (causing hurt voluntarily), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), 191 (rioting while armed with deadly weapons), and 190 (unlawful assembly), besides sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act.
