Firing at Jaintipur due to land dispute

PK Jaiswar

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 11

Former Amritsar Zila Parishad chairman and SAD leader Rajinder Kumar alias Pappu Jaintipuria and his nephew were arrested after Jaintipuria along with his supporters allegedly opened indiscriminate firing at his brother Prannath alias Goni and his family members at Jaintipur here today.

The incident led to panic and tension in the village. An eight-year-old child, identified as Kartik, sustained splinter injuries in the incident. He is stated to be out of danger. Prannath and his family members saved themselves by lying down on the floor. Pranath and his cousin, Ashok Kumar, are supporters of the Congress. Kartik is the grandson of Ashok Kumar.

According to the police, a land dispute between Pappu Jaintipuria and Prannath was the reason behind the incident. Hardev Singh, DSP, Majitha, said a case under Sections 307 and 506 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against 13 persons, including the former Zila Parishad chairman. The police have arrested Pappu and his nephew, Sahil, in this regard. Among others booked include Pappu’s son Amandeep, Sandeep, Ashwani, Vikas Wadhwa, Soni, Balkar Singh, Baljit Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Lovely and Pawan.

Following the incident, the entire village was turned into a police cantonment. A heavy police force was deployed to bring the situation under control. When the police arrested Pappu and Sahil, they faced resistance from women and supporters of the accused.

Goni stated that Pappu had grabbed over an acre of his land and he had also illegally occupied half-acre land of his cousin, Ashok Kumar.

As per details, Pappu and his supporters started firing at around 8.30 am towards the residence of the victims due to some land dispute. The DSP said earlier too they had a quarrel over the issue. He said the police recovered two shells from the spot.

Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Lalli Majithia alleged that when he went to meet the victims, a mob, including women family members and supporters of the accused, damaged their vehicles besides indulging in firing and pelting them with stones. He was inside the house of Prannath, he said. He alleged that the entire incident was a deep-rooted conspiracy, hatched by former Punjab Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

However, Majithia, in a statement released this evening, termed the allegations as baseless and alleged that Lalli Majithia was trying to derive political mileage from a family dispute between two brothers. He claimed that both the families were his supporters while Lalli was giving a family dispute a political colour. He said Lalli himself provoked people.