Eight years after the daylight murder of Congress councillor Gurdeep Pehalwan, a court in Amritsar delivered a split verdict, acquitting gangster Jagdeep Singh, alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, and four others, while convicting three accused and sentencing them to life imprisonment.
Pehalwan was gunned down on June 2, 2018, at Gol Bagh Akhara on Railway Road in Amritsar, a place he frequently visited. According to eyewitnesses, three armed assailants opened fire on the councillor while several others allegedly assisted them during the attack.
The judgment was pronounced by additional sessions judge Sanjeev Kundi on Friday evening and was uploaded on Saturday. The court held that the prosecution failed to establish charges against five accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Those acquitted include Bhagwanpuria, Bobby Malhotra, Bhupinder Singh, alias Sonu Kangla, Kartik, alias Ghora, and Varinder Singh, alias Sunny.
The court convicted Arun Kumar, alias Chhuri Maar, Angrej Singh and Amanpreet Singh, alias Rinka, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting while armed with deadly weapons, forgery-related offences and destruction of evidence.
All three convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹22,000 each. In default of payment, they will undergo an additional six months of imprisonment.
{{/usCountry}}All three convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹22,000 each. In default of payment, they will undergo an additional six months of imprisonment.
{{/usCountry}}The murder had triggered widespread outrage in Punjab due to its brazen nature and alleged links to gang rivalry.
Investigators had also referred to a purported social media post circulated after the killing, which claimed the murder was an act of revenge for the 2014 killing of gangster Sangam Malhotra. The post allegedly accused Pehalwan of involvement in that murder.
During the lengthy trial proceedings, two accused — Ravneet Singh, alias Sonu Mota, and Rajat Malhotra, alias Karan Masti, — died.
Mota was shot dead in April 2025 by Pehalwan’s son, who allegedly carried out the attack in retaliation for his father’s murder.
The verdict has left Pehalwan’s family dissatisfied, particularly over the acquittal of key accused who allegedly had longstanding enmity with the councillor and had previously issued threats.