Kabaddi player shot dead in the middle of tournament in Punjab

A 30-year-old kabaddi player-cum-promoter died after unidentified gunmen opened fire on him after he arrived with his team to take part in a tournament in Mohali on Monday, police said.

Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria was critically injured in the attack and was rushed to the Fortis Hospital in Mohali, where he was declared dead, police said.  The incident took place at Sohana in Mohali, where a private kabaddi tournament had been going on for the past few days, SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans said. A statement issued by the hospital said, “Mr Kanwar Digvijay Singh, a 30-year-old kabaddi player, was brought to the Fortis Hospital, Mohali, at 6:05 pm with gunshot injuries. Despite immediate clinical assessment, he was declared brought dead.”

The SSP told reporters that the assailants were 2-3 in number, who reportedly fled on a motorcycle after the incident. Asked if there was any enmity angle or gang rivalry behind the killing, the SSP said, “The matter is under investigation.”

Some eyewitnesses told police that the attackers pretended to be fans and approached Rana to click selfies but opened fire soon after.  The tournament was being held in a packed ground, where Punjabi singer Mankirt Aulakh was also expected for the evening matches to give away prizes, they said.

When Rana reached the ground, he was stopped by the attackers who requested for a selfie.  “We first thought firecrackers were being burst,” an eyewitness said, referring to the gunshots.

“To scare the spectators, the attackers also fired in the air,” he said.  The killing brought back memories of three years ago, when another kabaddi player, Sandeep Nangal, was shot dead in Jalandhar district in the middle of a tournament at Mallian Kalan village.

More recently, a 25-year-old kabaddi player named Teja Singh was shot dead in broad daylight in Jagraon in October this year.

The opposition Congress, SAD and BJP slammed the Bhagwant Mann Government over the Mohali incident, alleging total collapse of law and order in the state under the AAP. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said in a post on X, “Open firing at a kabaddi tournament in Mohali, claiming the life of player Rana Balachauria, is a chilling reminder of @AAPPunjab’s abject failure to maintain law and order. Bullets flying at public events are proof of governance collapse. Punjabis are being forced to live in fear.”  Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said on X, “Gunshots at the Mohali Kabaddi Cup in Sohana are a damning verdict on @BhagwantMann’s total failure as CM and Home Minister.” Bajwa, who’s the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, claimed that sporting arenas have turned into shooting grounds while criminals roam with impunity.

“When bullets fly at public events, it’s clear the state has lost control.

This isn’t governance, this is abdication. Punjab is paying the price for Mann’s incompetence and misplaced priorities. Law and order has collapsed completely. How many more shots before accountability,” he asked. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the incident has once again shaken Punjab to its core. In a post in Punjabi on X, Badal said, “Under the state’s inept Government, the morale of criminals has risen to such heights that they do not hesitate to fire shots even in the middle of a running match in front of the entire crowd.

“It is the incompetence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann that murders, extortions and numerous other terrorist incidents are happening daily in Punjab. Yet, instead of maintaining law and order, police are focused on implementing Government orders related to political vendetta.”

Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma claimed the state has become so insecure today that even the kabaddi fields are no longer safe from bullets.

“The incident is even more heartbreaking because Rana had been married recently. A married life was mercilessly ended by gangster rule,” Sharma said.

He also said this was not the first such incident.

“Previously, kabaddi players Sandeep Nangal Ambian and Tejpal Singh were brutally murdered. All these events make one thing clear – Punjab’s players are also in the crosshairs of gangsters under the Bhagwant Mann Government,” Sharma said on X. Sharma also alleged that “under Bhagwant Mann’s failed leadership and Arvind Kejriwal’s remote-control Government run from Delhi, law and order in Punjab has completely collapsed.”

“Criminals, gangsters, murderers and shooters are roaming freely without any fear, while the Government is busy with advertisements and false claims. From villages to cities, from streets to stadiums– there is an atmosphere of fear in Punjab today,” he alleged.

Assailants were 2-3 in number, who reportedly fled on a motorcycle after the incident. The matter is under investigation.                                               — Harmandeep Singh Hans, SSP