Batala traders observe bandh over double murder, shooters still at large

The victims included Sarabjit Singh Kaka, 26, an aide of Congress leader Amandeep Jaintipuria, and Kanav Mahajan, an acquaintance

Three days after a double murder in the bustling Batala market on October 10, the town observed a near-total shutdown on Saturday as trader organisations and Hindu right-wing outfits protested the killings and police inaction.

Traders downed shutters in solidarity with the victims of the firing incident, in which two youths were shot dead and four others injured by unidentified bike-borne assailants. (HT Photo)

Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in solidarity with the victims of the firing incident, in which two youths were shot dead and four others injured by unidentified bike-borne assailants. The shooters, believed to have links with gangsters, are still absconding.

The victims included Sarabjit Singh Kaka, 26, an aide of Congress leader Amandeep Jaintipuria, and Kanav Mahajan, an acquaintance. Both were present with the leader when the unidentified assailants opened fire outside his brother-in-law’s showroom. While the leader narrowly escaped, Kaka and Mahajan sustained bullet injuries and died.

Kaka had been recently married, while Mahajan was the lone son of his parents, his father having passed away last year.

All kinds of public services were hit by the bandh, affecting routine life. However, shops on Batala’s outskirts in Gurdaspur district stayed open.

Taking out a march, protesters accused the Punjab Police of failing to contain rising gangster activity and demanded swift justice for the bereaved families.

Police have registered an FIR in the case, but the assailants remain out of grasp even three days after the incident, deepening worries among the trader community that has been increasingly targeted by gangsters for extortion.