Man killed over land dispute in Lakhuwal

Amritsar, July 8

A land dispute turned ugly at Lakhuwal village falling under the Ramdas police station here on Sunday after a group of armed persons attacked two persons and brutally thrashed them. One of them later declared dead by doctors when they were rushed to hospital for treatment. The deceased was identified as Gurdev Singh of Lakhuwal village.

The police have booked five persons on charges of murder and voluntarily causing hurt. Those booked were identified as Harjit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Lakha Singh, Makhan Singh and Gurjit Singh, all residents of the same village.

The complainant, Gurbhej Singh, told the police that on Saturday night, he along with his uncle Gurdev Singh had gone to the fields where they had sown paddy. He said when they reached the spot and were observing the fields being irrigated, he saw the accused who were armed with sharp-edged weapons.

He said Lakha Singh asked his accomplices to attack the victims for teaching them a lesson for scuffling with them. He said they were left seriously injured in the attack.

Later, villagers rushed to the hospital where doctors declared Gurdev Singh dead.

The reason behind the incident was that the accused had encroached upon a drain by filling it with earth and had sown paddy on it. This led to the flooding in their fields and damage to the crops. They took up the matter in the village panchayat, which decided in their favour and again dug out the earth filled in the drain for drainage of water.

The accused kept a grudge against them and therefor attacked them.

The police said raids were on to arrest the accused who have been absconding since the incident.