Three alleged gangsters were shot dead by members of a rival gang near the Aujala by-pass on Kahnuwan Road here on Thursday.
Vicky Goundar, who had escaped from the Nabha jail in November last year, was allegedly the leader of the attackers.
The deceased, who were travelling in a car when attacked, were identified as Harpreet Singh alias Subedar of Mustafabad Jattan village, Sukhchain Singh alias Jatt of Gurdaspur and Sahib Singh of Pull Tibri. Two other occupants of the car, Inderbir Singh of Nawan Pind Jhawar and Daman Mahajan of Gurdaspur, managed to save their lives by running out of the car.
Subedar and his friends were returning after attending a hearing in a local court when five men, who were coming from the opposite side in a car, opened fire at them. Subedar and Sukhchain died on the spot and Sahib Singh succumbed to his injuries at the government hospital in Amritsar.
An FIR was registered at the Tibber police station on the statement of survivor Daman Mahajan. The five accused booked for murder and other sections of the IPC have been identified as Vicky Gouder, Sukhpal Singh of Bhikhariwal, Gyana of Kharal village, Hari Chadha of Majithia and Gopi. Mahajan told the police that they had an old enmity with the assailants and the two factions had clashed in the past as well.
The mother of Subedar was inconsolable at the hospital in Gurdaspur. A number of young sympathisers of the victims were seen at the Gudaspur hospital where the bodies were taken for post-mortem. There were blood stains on the road and broken pieces of glass strewn around at the crime spot.
Gurdaspur SSP Bhupinderjeet Singh Virk also visited the spot.
