Cong man shot at after FB duel

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, July 1

A block samiti member and Congress leader, Onkar Singh Sonu Bajwa, was shot at by two gunmen here on Sunday morning. A “verbal spat” on the Facebook between Bajwa and gangster Harry Majithia is believed to be the trigger behind the firing, said the police.

Bajwa was shifted to the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital where doctors said he was not out of danger yet. A heavy police force has been deployed in and around the hospital. Senior police officers reached Bajwa’s residence after a relative alerted the control room.

Bajwa, a loyalist of Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, was shot at four times in the leg after assailants barged into his Hayat Nagar residence. Sources said the miscreants escaped on a motorcycle parked near the house.

Bajwa and Majithia were engaged in a war of words on the social media on Saturday, with the former using expletives to challenge the latter, said sources. The gangster retorted through his Facebook post: “You’ll have to face the same number of bullets as the expletives used.” Majithia also warned Bajwa that he would be targeted within 24 hours. 

A police officer claimed they were trying to locate the whereabouts of Majithia. The gangster has been on the run and regularly uses social media platforms.

The attack comes even as the police have been claiming that gangsters had either been eliminated or marginalised. “An attempt to murder case has been registered against two unidentified persons. Investigations are on,” said SSP HS Bhullar.