15 booked for murdering auto driver in Patiala

PATIALA: The police here have booked 15 persons under sections of murder , criminal assault and criminal conspiracy in connection with the killing of a 35-five-year-old Badungar resident. The police said the deceased had managed to purchase and auto-rickshaw and had given it on a lease.


The deceased, identified as Rajinder Singh, used to drive an autorickshaw taken on lease.

Trouble arouse when Rajinder was grilled by the members of the autorickshaw union for not paying Rs 25,000 as the entry charges set by the union. Rajinder, however, requested the union members to charge the said fee from the owner of his autorickshaw as he was taking his cut from Rajinder.

Police said a few day later, some union members spotted Rajinder roaming outside his house. Taking advantage of the moment, they cornered him and assaulted him with sharpedged weapons on May 16.

A severely injured Rajinder was rushed to the hospital from where he was referred to another medical facility, said police.

Instead of taking Rajinder to the referred medical institute in Chandigarh, his relatives took him to a private hospital in Patiala where he succumbed to injuries a day later, said a police official. We are investigating the matter thoroughly. Till now we have arrested two persons involved in the crime while a manhunt has been launched to arrest the remaining accused, he added.