Kabaddi promoter's murder: Shooter killed in exchange of fire with police in Mohali

Chandigarh, Jan 17 (PTI) One of the shooters involved in the murder of Kabaddi promoter-cum-player Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria on Saturday was killed allegedly during an exchange of fire with Punjab Police in Mohali after he escaped police custody.

Karan Pathak alias Karan Defaulter, a resident of Amritsar, and another shooter, Tarandeep Singh, and their accomplice from Howrah in West Bengal were arrested a few days ago by the Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF).

Rana Balachauria (30) was shot dead by assailants during a Kabaddi tournament at Sohana in Mohali on December 15, 2025.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans said Pathak was in the custody of police's Crime Investigation Agency (CIA).

On Friday night, Pathak complained of chest pain. When he was being taken to a hospital, the police vehicle hit a road divider because of foggy weather around 11:30 pm and Pathak escaped, the SSP said.

A manhunt was launched across the district while police in Chandigarh, Rupnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib were alerted. Various police checkpoints were set up to trace the accused, he said.

A police team spotted him in Kharar in Mohali at around 6:30 am on Saturday and asked him to stop but he tried to run away.

Pathak fired six to seven rounds at the police. In retaliation, police also fired gunshots, injuring him.

He was initially taken to a nearby hospital but later rushed to a government hospital where he succumbed to the injuries, the SSP said.

Asked from where he got the weapon to fire at the police, the SSP said Pathak was at large for 6-7 hours and he might have procured the weapon, which is yet to be recovered, from a place where he had kept it. PTI CHS SKY SKY