'Aah maar ditta tuhada Sher putt': Youth murdered in Kapurthala village, killers taunt parents after crime

Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, September 22

In a heinous crime that has come to light in Kapurthala, Hardeep Singh Deepa, a resident of Pattu Ladhu Ki village in Dhilwan here was brutally killed on the night of September 19.

The hapless parents of the victim received the information of his murder from the killers, who knocked on their door to inform them that they had killed their son. Two people have been arrested for the murder of Hardeep while the police is on the lookout for others, including the kingpin.

Police have termed the murder the result of an ongoing gangwar between two feuding groups of the same village. An FIR was registered at the Dhilwan police station on September 20 under sections 302, 148 and 149 of the IPC against 5-6 people including Harpreet Singh Happy. Police sources said number of people involved in the murder could go up to 8 to 10.  

Those arrested have been identified as Dhilwan resident Manav Mehta, whose Scorpio car was used for the crime and Navjit Singh alias Gora - also from Dhilwan. The Scorpio has also been seized by the police.  

Meanwhile, on Friday Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal shared the incident on X and said, “…there is complete Jungle Raj prevailing in Punjab, where murder, loot snatchings and robberies are becoming an everyday affair.”

Shocked to learn about the brutal killing of a young Kabaddi player at vill Dhilwan in Kapurthala. See the level of fearlessness of the murderers; they knocked at the door and told the parents: "Aah maar ditta tuhada Sher putt". This isn't an isolated incident. There is complete… pic.twitter.com/myulUOWFvJ

— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 22, 2023

In his complaint to the police, Gurnam Singh, father of Hardeep Singh Deepa, told Dhilwan police that his son Hardeep was a farmer.

Due to the ongoing dispute with Harpreet, a case against his son had already been registered at the Dhilwan police station. His son was staying out of the house for several days due to fear of arrest, but on September 19, he came home after several days at five in the evening and took a copy of the bank's passbook from home.

Around 10:30 pm someone knocked the gate of his house and he heard loud shouts, after which he climbed atop a high platform with his wife Kulwant Kaur to look across the house wall. Gurnam said he saw that Harpreet Singh alias Happy was outside his house with four or five aides of his.

Hapreet shouted to the duo, "Ajj asi tuhade munde nu vadh ke os da kamm kadh ditta hai, aa chak lavo apna sher puttar" (We have killed your son and ended his life today. Come take you Lion son)." After this the group left the spot while shouting.

When the couple came out, they saw their son's badly wounded body lying outside. He had been assaulted with sharp edged weapons, datars and kirpans, the father alleged.

The parents took the son to the hospital where he was declared dead.

As per police, various deep cuts were found on Hardeep's body - especially on ankle and an arm where the body parts was barely left hanging. Police said one of those arrested (Manav Mehta) had used his vehicle to hit Hardeep, who was on a bike after which he lost balance. Following this, the group attacked him.  

SP Investigation Kapurthala, Ramaninder Singh said, "Two people have been arrested in the case and we are on the lookout for others. The murder was owing to an ongoing feud between the duo (Hapreet and Hardeep). Hardeep may have played Kabaddi in college days but wasn't a player at present. Both have several cases against them. The murderers had also carried out recce prior to the murder. More details will emerge following the arrest of the key culprits."  

Dhilwan SHO Balbir Singh said, "An FIR has been registered against 5 to 6 unnamed persons including Harpreet alias Happy. Two of them have been arrested. Further investigation in the case is on."

As per police, Hardeep had two previous cases against him, while Harpreet had 10 previous cases registered against him.

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