Four held for firing bullet that had hit retired banker’s window

A month after a retired banker had a narrow escape after a bullet pierced through her apartment window in Omega City, Kharar, on the intervening night between July 3 and 4, Kharar police have cracked the case with the arrest of four men, including three history-sheeters.
“The accused had brought an illegal country made pistol from Madhya Pradesh and they fired a shot in the air in an inebriated state. But the bullet pierced through a window of a flat. The accused were eventually identified and nabbed by the Kharar City police team using human and technical intelligence,” said DSP Karan Sandhu.
Three of the accused are from Amritsar, including Jai Sharma, alias Sukh Ambarsariya, Nikhil Sharma and Mohni, while the fourth accused is Karan Sharma, a native of Naina Devi, Himachal Pradesh.
The DSP said the accused were habitual offenders and previously also booked for snatchings and under the Arms Act. While Jai was earlier booked in a total of nine cases, Mohani and Nikhil were named in four cases each.
After piercing the window glass, the bullet had hit a wall near the victim’s chair, where she was sitting, waiting for her son to return home from work.
The woman, Neelam Sharma, who retired as deputy manager from Punjab National Bank, had told police she was sitting on a dining table chair around 12.10 am, scrolling apps on her mobile phone, when she heard a loud sound. Initially thinking it was a stone hitting a bulb, she crouched in shock.
Upon noticing smoke in the room and a hole in a curtain, she discovered a window glass had been damaged.
She woke up her daughter, while her husband was sleeping, and they informed the building security who further alerted the police.
Her husband, Raj Kumar Sharma, who retired as manager, finance, from Milkfed, Shimla, had told police that his wife was waiting for their son to return from his night shift, as she slept only after serving him dinner. The incident had led to panic in the housing society.
The accused are facing charges under Section 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under relevant sections of the Arms Act at the Kharar City police station.