Man shot dead to avenge sarpanch’s murder in UT

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Garhdiwala (Hoshiarpur), Dec 6

Four months after dodging a murder bid, Garhdiwala resident Amrik Singh was shot dead near Dusehra Ground here this morning. The police said Amrik Singh was gunned down to avenge murder of Khurdan village sarpanch Satnam Singh, who was shot dead near a gurdwara in Chandigarh in April.

SSP J Elanchezhian said they had booked eight persons, including three brothers of Satnam Singh — Jyoti, Prince and Jang Bahadur.

The deceased’s family and local residents started a dharna by placing the body in the middle of the road demanding immediate arrest of the murderers. The SSP managed to persuade the protesters to lift the body, but the blockade continued till 5 pm.

The assailants carried out the crime when Amrik Singh was returning home after selling milk on his scooter. When he reached near Dusehra Ground at 7:30 am, some masked assailants fired indiscriminately on him. They shot seven-eight rounds. The bullets pierced Amrik in the head and stomach. He died on the spot.

The police claimed that there was an old rivalry behind the murder. The incident was another crime in the series of Shana murder case of 2013. The witness of that case, sarpanch Satnam Singh, was killed outside a gurdwara in Chandigarh in April.

Amrik Singh was earlier shot at on August 20. He had sustained a bullet injury on his leg.

Amrik Singh’s family members said the police knew that there was a threat to his life and he survived an attack, but they didn’t take it seriously. Amrik Singh had sought an arms licence.

After he was attacked in August this year, Amrik Singh had applied for an arms licence. According to a family member, he had visited the SSP’s office on Tuesday in this regard. The police had deployed security outside Amrik Singh’s residence after the August attack.