Jalandhar village sarpanch attacked by drug peddlers dies after eight days

Eight days after being brutally assaulted by five miscreants, Mahinder Singh, sarpanch of Butte Diyan Chhana village in Jalandhar, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday

Eight days after being brutally assaulted by five miscreants, Mahinder Singh, sarpanch of Butte Diyan Chhana village in Jalandhar, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

Eight days after being brutally assaulted by five miscreants, Mahinder Singh, sarpanch of Butte Diyan Chhana village in Jalandhar, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

According to police, Mahinder Singh was attacked with sharp-edged weapons and iron rods on February 28 after he objected to alleged drug smuggling activities by local peddlers in the village and nearby areas.

A three-time sarpanch of the village, Mahinder Singh had sustained a fractured skull and severe injuries to both legs in the attack. He had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Jalandhar since the incident.

The attack took place early in the morning when he was on his way to his fields along with his wife.

Following his death, relatives of the victim along with members of local farmer and labourer unions staged a protest outside Mehatpur police station, demanding the immediate arrest of all the accused and compensation for the bereaved family.

Jalandhar rural police have so far arrested three accused identified as Sukhjit Singh, Arman Singh and Gurpreet Singh.

Senior superintendent of police Harvinder Singh Virk said that two other accused are yet to be arrested and police teams have been constituted to apprehend them at the earliest.

“We have added Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to the FIR already registered at Mehatpur police station,” the SSP said.

Police said that on March 4, one of the accused, Sukhjit Singh, sustained a gunshot injury after he allegedly opened fire at a police team that was tracking his movement. An illegal 7.67 mm pistol and live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

Karnail Singh, the victim’s brother, alleged that police initially termed the assault as a robbery attempt and later described it as a result of personal enmity.

“My brother had no personal enmity with anyone. He was fighting against drug peddlers who have created a menace in the villages. He had filed multiple complaints against them, but insiders in the police station leaked information to the drug smugglers, which led to the attack on him,” he alleged, demanding the arrest of the mastermind behind the assault.

Responding to the allegations, deputy superintendent of police Sukhpal Singh said the investigation is ongoing and police are probing the case from all possible angles.