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Sarpanch’s murder: Old enmity led to murder, five held, says Moga cops
Khosa Kotla village sarpanch Veer Singh, a member of the Congress party, and a panch Ranjeet Singh were shot dead in the clash between two rival groups on Friday morning
A day after the murder of a Congress sarpanch and panch of Moga district’s Khosa Kotla village, the district police on Saturday arrested five accused, including a former sarpanch, along with the weapon used in the crime, officials said.
Khosa Kotla village sarpanch Veer Singh, a member of the Congress party, and a panch Ranjeet Singh were shot dead in the clash between two rival groups on Friday morning.
The accused were identified as Gurcharan Singh, Gurdeep Singh, former sarpanch Jagraj Singh, Ranjit Singh and Baljit Singh, all residents of Khosa Kotla village. Police also recovered Gurcharan’s .32-bore licensed pistol, which was used in the crime.
Accused Raju Khalsa, Dr Gurpreet Singh and Bhag Singh are still on the run, and police are trying to identify eight other accused, police officials said.
Meanwhile, two other accused Surinder Singh and Malkit Singh, who were injured in the clash, are undergoing treatment at a hospital. Surinder has been referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh, due to his critical condition.
Moga senior superintendent of police (SSP) J Elenchezhian said, “Five accused have been arrested, while raids are on to nab others. Among the arrested are Gurcharan and Gurdeep, who had opened fire during the clash. The accused had also fled with the revolver of Veer Singh, which is yet to be recovered.”
The group of former village sarpanch had enmity with Veer’s group, and the clash reportedly took place over a WhatsApp chat, said police. On Friday morning, Veer and his group members were on a walk when they were allegedly attacked by the other group, who opened fire at them. Veer and Ranjit died on the spot.
