Watch: Mohali kabaddi player Rana Balachauria gunned down at crowded tournament; gang claims murder as Sidhu Moose Wala revenge

In a brazen attack that has sent shockwaves through Punjab, a prominent kabaddi player and promoter was shot dead in front of hundreds of spectators at a tournament in Mohali on Monday evening.

The public assassination has triggered a fierce political row over law and order in the state, with a rival gang claiming the murder was revenge for the killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

Under @BhagwantMann govt, Punjab’s law and order has hit a new low.

Firing during the Mohali Kabaddi Cup in Sohana, which claimed the life of player Rana Balachouria, exposes the complete collapse of governance. When gunshots ring out at public sports events, it’s a clear sign… pic.twitter.com/4vZ1HovN87 — Pargat Singh (@PargatSOfficial) December 15, 2025

The victim, 30-year-old Kanwar Digvijay Singh, widely known as Rana Balachauria, was one of the organisers of the Sohana Kabaddi Cup in Sector 82. Disturbing footage from the event, later shared widely on social media including by Congress leader Pargat Singh, captures the moment gunshots ring out, sending players and spectators scrambling in panic.

According to Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans, the assailants exploited Balachauria’s local fame. Two hitmen arrived on a motorcycle and approached him on the pretext of taking selfies. “Balachauria was used to people asking to be clicked with him and suspected nothing,” SSP Hans was cited by TOI as saying. Once close, they drew pistols and opened fire at point-blank range.

The gunmen reportedly fired several shots in the air to cover their escape amidst the fleeing crowd of 500-600 people. Struck multiple times in the head and face, Balachauria collapsed on the ground. He was rushed to Fortis Hospital in Mohali but was declared dead on arrival.

Police at the scene recovered four to five empty .32 calibre shells, with initial investigations suggesting six to seven rounds were fired. Teams have launched a search operation and are analysing local CCTV footage.

The brutality of the crime was compounded minutes later when the Chaudhary-Shaganpreet gang claimed responsibility in a social media post. The post, which police have confirmed, stated the murder “avenged the death of our brother Sidhu Moosewala.”

It alleged Balachauria was associated with rival figures Jaggu Khoti and Lawrence Bishnoi and had sheltered Moose Wala’s killer. The gang named “Makkhan Amritsar and Defaulter Karne” as the perpetrators.

The killing has drawn sharp condemnation from opposition parties, who have accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to maintain public safety. Sharing the harrowing video, BJP’s Chandigarh unit cited earlier attacks on kabaddi players like Sandeep Nangal Ambian and Tejpal Singh, asserting sportspersons had become “soft targets” under what it called Bhagwant Mann’s “incompetent leadership” and Arvind Kejriwal’s “remote-control governance.”

Echoing the sentiment, Congress leader and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the incident “exposes a serious failure of law and order in Punjab.” In a statement, he argued that such brazen criminal acts put public safety at clear risk.