Punjab Police’s son ‘shoots’ at cop during videographed weapon recovery; shot in leg

During a weapon recovery operation in Chandigarh's Sector 50 forest area, 17-year-old Class XI student Naitik Khandelwal was fatally shot on Thursday night. The main accused, Manmehar Preet Singh, 25, and his brother Arsh Mehar, 21, sons of a serving Punjab Police officer, were arrested on Friday. The incident took a dramatic turn on Saturday when the accused allegedly opened fire at a police team during the recovery operation, which was required to be recorded.

Manmehar Preet Singh was shot in the leg during the retaliatory firing, but escaped unhurt despite the bullet striking his bulletproof jacket. The police team retaliated with two shots, while the accused fired a single shot. Inspector Harinder Singh Sekhon led the operation and confirmed the incident occurred when the accused were taken to the location where the weapon was concealed.

The investigation has pointed towards an earlier dispute between Naitik and a juvenile accused, with a video of a fight between the two circulating on Instagram potentially triggering the violence. Police are now probing the full chain of events behind the killing, including whether it was a retaliation and the accused's connections to criminal networks operating across Punjab, including those linked to Lawrence Bishnoi and Lucky Patial gangs.