A 26-year-old man who was posted as the President's bodyguard was shot in the head after a dispute over bursting firecrackers in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on Diwali, police said.
The injured man, identified as Saurabh Tomar, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Meerut. His condition is now reported to be stable.
Tomar had come home to celebrate Diwali with his family, who live in Gopalpur Khadana.
Police and residents say that Tomar was bursting firecrackers outside his home with his brothers Vineet and Mintu when the argument broke out with two villagers, Dheeraj and his brother Monu alias Praveen.
What began as a verbal dispute escalated into violence; as tensions escalated, Dheeraj allegedly pulled out a country-made pistol and opened fire.
One of the bullets first hit a wall and then struck Saurabh in the head just behind his ear, and he collapsed.
Dheeraj’s brothers then attacked Vineet with a stick. A crowd gathered there dispersed panicking, and the accused fled. Saurabh was rushed to the the Community Health Centre in Baraut. He was later sent to a private hospital in Meerut.
Doctors successfully removed the bullet from his head through surgery. His condition is reported to be critical. Local accounts said that the two sides knew each other and had maintained friendly relations in the past.
Saurabh was recruited to the army in 2021. He is currently posted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of the president’s bodyguard, the oldest and senior-most cavalry regiment in the Indian Army, and is currently posted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of the president’s bodyguard.
He is also married and has a nine-month-old child.
Based on a complaint by his father, Hanak Raj, a case has been registered against Dheeraj and Mony. Police said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
