Mohali: Bedlam persists for 2nd day as murdered teen’s kin refuse to budge from Airport Road
With police failing to arrest the accused even 48 hours after the murder, victim’s family continues to block Sector 68/79 light point on Mohali’s Airport Road, paralysing traffic movement
Absolute mayhem gripped Airport Road for the second consecutive day on Friday, as the kin of the 17-year-old Kumbra village boy who was murdered on Wednesday, continued their protest, demanding justice by placing the mortal remains on the road in a casket.
Airport Road, a major artery connecting Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh through the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, was blocked by the family near the Sector 68/79 light point around 10 am on Thursday, triggering widespread traffic chaos.
To divert the traffic, police had blocked all four roads leading to the protest site — at the Sohana gurdwara light point, Sector 67/80 light point, Sector 78/79 light point and the Sector 68/69 light point near Army Institute of Law — paralysing traffic movement all around the major traffic lifeline.
Police vehicles were also stationed near the protest site to add another layer of barricading.
On Friday, as victim Daman Kumar’s family refused to budge until the main accused were arrested, traffic chaos continued to prevail around Sectors 68, 69, 70, 71, 77, 78, 79 and 88, along with Phases 7,8 and 9, leaving clueless commuters stranded in serpentine jams.
Harried air passengers were also seen abandoning their cabs at the barricades and crossing the protest site on foot, lugging heavy luggage, in a desperate bid to find a way to reach the airport on time.
“I have to catch a flight to Mumbai. I already got late coming from Rupnagar due to hazy weather. Now, this road is blocked. I tried an internal road using online maps, but it brought me back to the protest site. Now, I am looking for another road to reach the airport on time,” said Partap Singh, an air passenger.
Husanpreet Kaur, who was heading to her parents’ house in Zirakpur for Gurpurab celebrations, said, “It took me over one and half an hour to reach Zirakpur from Sunny Enclave. With my toddler with me, it was a harrowing experience.”
MLA, SSP meet family
MLA Kulwant Singh and SSP Deepak Pareek reached the protest site on Friday to meet the victim’s family, who remained on Airport Road through Thursday night amid the cold and foggy weather.
The MLA, whose office is located metres away from the protest site, expressed grief over the tragic incident, saying he was with the family. Assuring all possible help, he urged the family to perform the last rites, keeping faith that police will arrest the accused soon. He also appealed to the protesters to consider the harassment caused to commuters.
Main accused’s accomplice arrested
While the main accused, who fatally attacked Daman Kumar and left his friend Dilpreet critically injured, remains out of police reach, one of his accomplices has landed in net.
Identified as Gaurav, currently a resident of Sohana, but native of Uttar Pradesh, had helped the main accused, Akash, and others after the murder by arranging new SIM cards and also dropped them off at the Sector-17 ISBT in Chandigarh, police said.
Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek said, “Gaurav, an accomplice, has been arrested. Multiple teams are conducting raids to arrest others. Some of them have escaped to other states, but we will nab them soon. We are in communication with the victim’s family and will bring the culprits to justice.”
Balwinder Singh, grieving father of the deceased, a vegetable vendor, refused to vacate the road and cremate his son till the six accused were arrested.
Daman was stabbed in the chest and Dilpreet in neck following a spat over collision of cycles in Kumbra village on Wednesday. While Daman succumbed to the injury, Dilpreet remains critical at GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh.