Man who escaped police custody in P’kula booked for gangster’s murder in Kotkapura

FARIDKOT: An undertrial prisoner who escaped the custody of Panchkula police in June has been booked for the murder last week of a 25-year-old gangster, Lavi Deora, in Kotkapura near here.

Deepak Kumar, who belongs to Bhiwani in Haryana, was identified and booked along with Sampat Nehra of Chandigarh on Friday, while a man named Bhola ‘Shooter’ was already booked for the murder.

Also, on Friday, the police booked Jaggu Bhagwanpuria of Batala for the murder conspiracy.

It is alleged that Sampat, Deepak and Bhola were the three who fired seven bullets at Deora last Saturday when he was standing in a ticket queue for a fait at the grain market grounds.

Police officials said the accused belong to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, while Deora was a member of most-wanted criminal Vicky Gounder’s gang. “They killed Deora as he had abused them on social media,” said an officer who was not authorised to speak to the media. Deora, who had been released on bail 12 days before his murder, had a fight with Bhola in the Faridkot jail too, it is also learnt.

“Both Deora and Bhola, being from Kotkapura, wanted to assert their supremacy in the region. Their accomplices were even trying for a compromise between them before Bhola killed Deora,” said another police official involved with the investigation.

As for Deepak, he had escaped police custody at General Hospital in Sector 6 of Panchkula on June 17 with the help of Sampat and others. “We are raiding at all possible hideouts of the accused,” said Nanak Singh, senior superintendent of police.