In a major setback for Mohali police, a local court has acquitted all three men accused in the 2020 murder of a man known as ‘Haryanvi.’ Additional District and Sessions Judge Hardeep Singh ruled that the prosecution failed to present even basic evidence to support the charges.
The three accused — Pardeep alias Kalua of Sector 52, Chandigarh; Pawan of Phase 8; and Ranjeet of Phase 8 — were initially arrested following a police complaint based on the victim’s alleged dying declaration. However, the prosecution could not establish the chain of evidence, motive, or corroborate the victim’s statement in court. Witnesses turned hostile, and police documentation contained numerous contradictions, leading to the collapse of the case.
According to records, on May 24, 2020, PCR in-charge Prashotam Lal and his team received a call about an injured man near Phase 7 traffic lights. They found the victim bleeding from a deep arm wound, with a trail of blood across the road. The victim, who identified himself as ‘Haryanvi,’ allegedly named Pardeep, Pawan, and Ranjeet as his assailants, claiming they attacked him with sticks.
The court noted that the dying declaration was never properly recorded, attested, or medically endorsed, rendering it legally doubtful. The prosecution also failed to recover the alleged weapons, confirm the accused’s presence at the scene, or link forensic evidence to the crime.
Although the victim was declared dead on arrival at the hospital and the Phase 8 police registered a murder case, the court found the investigation “incomplete, careless, and lacking merit,” leaving no ground to sustain the charges.
