With 50-yr-old man's killing in Bhiwani village, poll enmity claims 6th life in five years

Tribune News Service

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, November 17

An enmity, which started with the panchayat elections seven years ago, has claimed sixth life in the past five years. A 50-year-old man, Mahender Singh, was shot dead by assailants in Badesra village of Bhiwani yesterday.

Rivalry began in 2015

• 2015: An enmity began between Baljeet and Anand over new village sarpanch
• 2017: Baljeet, Bhaleram & Mahender were shot dead by Anand and his aides
• 2019: Former sarpanch Pawan was shot dead
• 2020: Murder witness Sube Singh was shot. All five murders done by Anand group
• Nov 16, 2022: Mahender shot dead, Balia hurt. Both belong to the Anand group

The deceased’s cousin, Ashok, alias Balia, a government teacher, has suffered a bullet injury and was admitted to a hospital in Hisar.

Police sources said the victims were supporters of the newly elected sarpanch, Bhoop Singh. They were waylaid by three armed youths outside the village and around 10 rounds were fired on them. While Mahender died on the spot, Balia is in a critical condition.

The police said they had registered a case of murder and attempt to murder against 16 persons named by the family members of the victims and started the investigation.

SHO Sandeep Sharma said police force had been deployed in the village following tension in the wake of the murder and the situation was under control now. The body was taken to the village after the autopsy tonight, said a police spokesperson.

Locals say the rivalry started between two groups when Sudesh Kumari was elected the sarpanch of the village in 2016. Baljeet, a villager, however procured information under the RTI Act and proved that Sudesh was not eligible for the post of the sarpanch under the education qualification criterion introduced by the state government.

As Sudesh was sacked from the post, her husband, Anand, started nursing a grudge against Baljeet. Subsequently, an enmity between Anand and Baljeet turned violent, which led to the latter’s murder and two others, Bhaleram and Mahender, in 2017. Another former sarpanch of the village, Pawan Kumar, who also belonged to the Baljeet group was shot dead in October 2019. While 80-year-old Sube Singh, who was witness in the murders of Baljeet and Bhaleram, was also shot dead in July 15, 2020.

The police sources said 21 members, including the family of Anand and some of his accomplices, had been facing murder charges and are lodged in a jail in connection with five murder cases.

However, the latest incident took place after Bhoop Singh, who is also the uncle of Anand, won the election and became the village sarpanch in the recent elections.

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