A Punjab gangster, who had contested the 2012 assembly elections as an independent candidate, was gunned down on Saturday by unidentified assailants in this Himachal town, police said.
Jaswinder Singh alias Rocky, who was in mid-40s, was returning to Chandigarh from Shimla after holidaying with his friend when the assailants waylaid his Toyota Fortuner vehicle and fired indiscriminately at him and his driver.
Rocky, who did not even get a chance to come out of the vehicle, died on the spot. His driver was admitted to the PGIMER in Chandigarh with grievous injuries.
Inspector General of Police Zahur H. Zaidi told reporters in Shimla that the gunmen fired indiscriminately at Rocky.
Police sources said the assailants, believed to be four, came in two vehicles -- two in a car and the others on a motorcycle.
"The two gunmen in the car fired at Rocky, while the others picked up the empty shells," said a police official.
A former accomplice of slain gangster Prabhjinder Singh Dimpy, Rocky had unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections from Fazilka as an independent candidate in 2012, securing 30,000 votes.
Rocky, who had a long criminal record, was booked for involvement in the murder of Dimpy in a shootout in Chandigarh in 2006. However, he was acquitted of the charge in 2014.
--IANS
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