Chandigarh court frames charges against 4 in firing incident at GMCH-32

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 16

Jaibir Singh, Additional Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, has framed charges against four accused Kamalpreet Singh, Bhavjit Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Baljeet Singh, alias Baljit Choudhary, in a two-year-old firing incident that took place opposite the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh.

The charges have been framed against the accused for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 307 of the IPC.

The police had registered an FIR in the case on a complaint of Jagtar Singh, a resident of Punjab, who alleged that five persons attacked him and opened fire at him when he was standing in front of the GMCH-32 on January 10, 2020.

Jagtar said he, along with his friend Sameer Bhat, came to visit his friend Lovepreet Singh, who was admitted to the hospital. He, along with Bhat, was standing near the emergency when four to five men attacked them shouting that Bhat would be eliminated. Before fleeing, the accused opened fire at him. He hid behind his car while a passerby, identified as Gurdyal Singh of Himachal Pradesh, received a bullet injury in the arm and was admitted to the GMCH-32.

Jagtar said Bhat had a standoff with some persons over a TikTok video. The police had registered a case under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 307 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at the Sector 34 police station. During the course of investigation, three used cartridges and a car with five bullet marks were seized from the spot.

“After going through the report under Section 173 of the CrPC and its accompanied documents, a prima facie case punishable under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 307 of the IPC is made out against the accused. In view of the observations of the Supreme Court expressed in case titled as Omwati v/s State (Delhi) Administration, the detailed circumstances showing existence of prima facie case against the accused for the offences in question are not required to be set out while framing charge. They have pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed trial,” said the court in the order.

The court has fixed December 6 as the next date of hearing to examine prosecution witnesses.