Friend stops ex-footballer from beating wife, is shot

BOKARO: Ajay Singh, a former India junior soccer player and a leader of All Jharkhand Student Union (Ajsu) Party, shot two of his friends, killing one and injuring another, near his residence here on Wednesday allegedly because they tried to stop him from thrashing his wife. Singh, 45, a former footballer with East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, has been since absconding.
While Sunil Gupta died in the attack, Amresh is injured. Both of them lived in the same colony as Singh.The crime has sent shock waves here as Singh is a popular figure among sportspersons in Jharkhand. He had opened a football academy in July 2016 to groom budding players.
Police said Singh fought with his wife Angela - a national level archer from Manipur - over domestic issues on Wednesday when they were returning home in a car. He abandoned her at a spot and sped off. Angela was walking on the road when Gupta and Amresh spotted her and asked if she was in trouble.
Meanwhile, Singh returned and started thrashing Angela. Bokaro SP Karthik S said Amresh intervened and tried to stop Singh when in a fit of rage, the footballer took out a countrymade pistol and fired at Angela and Amresh. "One of the bullets missed Angela and hit Gupta. Singh fired again and this time the bullet hit Amresh, who collapsed on the spot," said the SP.
Realising that Gupta was severely injured, Singh took him to a hospital in his car. He left Gupta at the gate of the trauma centre and sped away. Amresh was brought to hospital by residents of the colony.
Angela, who escaped the attack, has been arrested in connection with the recovery of huge cache of firearms from the couple's house, police said. Singh's elder brother Rajesh too has been arrested after police established his complicity in hiding evidence. "Investigations have revealed that Singh was an illegal arms smuggler and supplier. We are now looking into his antecedents," said Karthik .