Jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s mother Harjit Kaur, 52, and cousin Karanvir Singh, 29, were shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on Qadian Road in Batala town of Gurdaspur district on Thursday night, police said.
A search is on for the unidentified assailants, who opened fire on the two from close range when they were in an SUV parked outside their rented house in the Civil Lines area at 9.07pm before fleeing, the police said.
Bhagwanpuria’s rival Davinder Bambiha gang claimed responsibility for the attack via a social media post, stating that Karanvir was the intended target. In an unverified social media post shortly after the attack, a user identifying himself as Dony Bal Manga claimed responsibility, saying he along with Prabh Dasuwal and Kaushal Chaudhary (both from Haryana) had avenged the killing of a member of their gang, Gora Bariar.
The post alleged that Harjit Kaur and Karanvir had been managing the criminal operations of Bhagwanpuria.
Batala deputy superintendent of police Paramveer Singh said both the victims sustained bullet injuries on the face, chest, and stomach. Harjit Kaur was rushed to the local civil hospital from where she was referred to a hospital in Amritsar, but succumbed to the bullet injuries. Karanvir, who is the son of a Punjab Police assistant sub inspector, was declared dead at the Batala civil hospital.
{{/usCountry}}Batala deputy superintendent of police Paramveer Singh said both the victims sustained bullet injuries on the face, chest, and stomach. Harjit Kaur was rushed to the local civil hospital from where she was referred to a hospital in Amritsar, but succumbed to the bullet injuries. Karanvir, who is the son of a Punjab Police assistant sub inspector, was declared dead at the Batala civil hospital.
{{/usCountry}}The DSP said a case has been registered and teams have been formed to arrest the killers. “We are investigating the motive behind the incident,” he said.
Harjit Kaur, who belongs to Bhagwanpur village, was elected as the sarpanch during the previous Congress regime. She was active in the Congress but before the Dera Baba Nanak assembly byelections last year, she joined the Aam Aadmi Party.
In March, gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria was detained under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS) and shifted from Bathinda central jail to Assam’s Silchar jail on the recommendation of the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Bhagwanpuria was in Punjab Police custody for singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder in Mansa on May 29, 2022. Moosewala was murdered by the Goldy Brar-Lawrence Bishnoi-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang to avenge the killing of Youth Akali Dal leader Vikramjit Singh, alias Vicky Middukhera, by the Bambiha gang in Mohali on August 7, 2021.
Bhagwanpuria faces 128 criminal cases, including high-profile murders and extortion, besides the Arms Act and 13 under the NDPS Act, since 2012.
Rajwinder Kaur, sister of deceased Harjeet Kaur, has filed a complaint to the SHO Thana, civil line, Batala, against the former deputy chief minister and Gurdaspur MP, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, his son and a private person, Amandeep Singh Jaintipuria.
She is the sarpanch of Bhagwanpuria village falling under the Dera Baba Nanak constituency of Gurdaspur district. Before becoming MP, Randhawa was MLA from the seat.
Randhawa, when contacted, termed the receiving of the application by the police as a “big conspiracy by the AAP government to fix him for political gains”.
“I have been a vocal critic of gangsterism in Punjab. My life is an open book before the public of Dera Baba Nanak. All these allegations are absurd and smell towards a conspiracy,” said Randhawa.