Ex-Punjab Minister's Close Aide Gunned Down on Way Back from Gurdwara in Amritsar

Amritsar/Chandigarh: In a horrific incident, a close associate of former Punjab Minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia was gunned down in Amritsar’s Majitha on Wednesday.

Baba Gurdeep Singh, the husband of the Sarpanch of Umarpura village, was returning from a local Gurdwara when the assailants opened fire at him. Singh suffered five bullet injuries and died on the spot.

The family of the deceased accused the kin of a rival Congress candidate, who lost the Gram Panchayat polls to his wife, of murder. The two families are also embroiled in a land dispute.

Meanwhile, Majitha police have registered a case against Nirmal Singh, a villager, his son Harmanjeet and three others in connection of the case.

“Harmanjeet Singh has a criminal past. We used to raid villages as he was involved in illegal activites and even lahan (illicit liquor) was recovered from his house 3-4 months back. He suspected that Gurdeep Singh’s family was our informer and thus nursed a grudge against him,” said Majitha DSP Yogeshwar Singh.

The police have taken into possession the CCTV footages of the area and have apprehended a suspect who was giving information of the deceased’s movement to people, the DSP said adding that the matter is under investigation.

In a similar incident in November last year, a former Akali Sarpanch, Dalbir Singh Dhilwan, was murdered in Batala. Dhilwan was hacked several times with a sickle and later six bullets were pumped into his chest.

The SAD has accused state cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of ielding the accused.

Meanwhile, Majithia held protests across the state and demanded a CBI inquiry into the case. SAD has also accused Batala SSP Opinderjeet Singh Ghuman of sheltering “Congress goons” who murdered Dhilwan.

Majithia alleged that Randhawa had links with gangsters in Punjab and that a Jagdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who is currently lodged in Patiala jail, is running an extortion racket in the state with the patronage of Randhawa.

Randhawa has denied the allegations saying he was ready to face any probe.