24 hours after goon vowed a ‘sensation’, man shot in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: On Sunday,

gangster

Vicky Gonder, who had escaped from the high-security Nabha jail in November last year, had sought to mock Punjab police by stating on Facebook that he would soon commit a “sensational crime”. Barely 24 hours later, on Monday, a bouncer, Amit Kumar alias Meet, whom Gonder had allegedly threatened to kill, was

shot dead

near the Shiva temple at Saketri, raising the suspicion that the gangster might be behind the killing and the Facebook threat meant for Meet.

The 32-year-old bouncer was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday afternoon when he was heading towards his car, which was parked near the temple. His mother was with him. Police said two or three fired several shots at Meet from a car. He died at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh later in the day.

Sources told TOI that they suspected that one of Gonder’s associates, Surjit, was responsible for the killing.

Surjit is believed to have tried to kill Meet twice before — first at a gym in Chandigarh’s posh Sector 26 in July last year, and then in November in Mohali. An old enmity is believed to be the motive.

In his FB post, written in Punjabi, Gonder had said, “Asi sab apni dushmani karkey karde paye haan, jehda kam asi karange, usda pata aap sab no lag hi jayega (We are fixing our enemies, whatever we will do in the future, it will be known to everyone).” This was his first post since his escape from jail. On November 27, 2016, 12 to 14 armed men had entered the high-security Nabha jail and escaped with alleged terrorist and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Mintoo.

Along with Mintoo, five gangsters, including Gonder, escaped too. Mintoo and the other men have since been arrested.