2 dead, four hurt in firing incidents since June 9

A spate of shooting incidents has swept the Doaba region for the past 10 days.

Four persons have been injured and two have died since June 9 alone in firing incidents. Six incidents have taken place in rural areas at Jalandhar and Kapurthala (3 each in both districts), of which one also includes an accidental firing.

A gym trainer died following a June 18 firing incident at Nakodar, and a Goraya security guard died after a fatal shot sustained on June 14 while cleaning his gun. Before this, Jalandhar was also rocked by several firing incidents in May, including the killing of AISSF lawyer Parminder Singh Dhingra.

Social media feeds are replete with videos of fights, violence, slapping and abuse, raising concerns on the impact these incidents leave on people. Apart from these incidents, a slew of incidents involving attacks with sharp-edged weapons have also been reported in May and June in Jalandhar and its periphery.

In the firing incident on June 18, gym trainer Yograj Singh died and another man Dilpreet was injured after he was caught in the crossfire of two groups near the Shankar Bypass at Nakodar in Jalandhar. A case was registered against 20 people, who are yet to be arrested.

Before this, on June 9, Lakhan Kalan village resident Pavitar Singh, son of the vilage Sarpanch, was shot at by assailants. Pavitar’s family claimed that the assailants were men of the rival faction, who lost the village sarpanch election.

On June 10, some persons opened fire outside the residence of Jasvir Singh, a resident of Burj Kaila village at Phillaur with the intent to intimidate or harm his family. Accused Bikramjeet Singh of Kamalke Khurd, Luvpreet Singh of Sangla village, Moga were arrested from Moga several days later.

On June 11, Bobby, a man sitting at the grain market, Sultanpur Lodhi with friends, was shot in his back by a group of 10–12 youths who arrived in three vehicles. Anoop Singh, a 35-year-old security guard posted at the Co-operative Bank in Goraya, died in accidental firing while cleaning his service rifle at his home at Rurka Kalan village in Jalandhar on June 14. Singh had brought the rifle home due to an upcoming two-day holiday.

On June 17, one person sustained a gunshot injury following an altercation at Pipli Saheb Gurdwara at village Hardaspur, Phagwara, among three factions of Nihang Sikhs following an altercation which escalated into a firing, while trying to resolve a previous dispute.

SSP Kapurthala, Gaurav Toora said, “This is a subjective issue. Why there is an increase in gun violence is beyond the police’s purview. Lack of patience could be one of the reasons. There should be a survey on the issue to determine the causes.”