Ex-sarpanch shot in broad daylight in Patiala

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 11

Armed men today shot dead a former sarpanch outside his house under construction at Vikas Nagar in broad daylight.

The deceased, Tara Dutt (40), was a former sarpanch of Jhill village in the Patiala rural constituency. He was residing at Tripari and was overseeing the construction of his new house at Vikas Nagar when the attackers alighted from a car and allegedly pumped four-eight bullets into him.

The labourers and contractor rushed him to a private hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

The police said two weapons were used in the crime and prima facie, it appeared that more than five bullets hit the victim. “Around 12 rounds were fired at the spot by the assailants who fled the scene immediately,” said the police.

A senior police official said around half a dozen men came in an SUV and started firing indiscriminately at Dutt who was entering his house under construction. “It looks like an old enmity as the victim was facing a few criminal cases and had many opponents. We are trying to get footage from the nearby CCTVs to identify the assailants or get clues about them,” he said.

Senior police officials said the exact reason behind the murder was not known, but a couple of recent FIRs related to the victim could hold the key. “We are still investigating the actual reason for the crime,” they said.