A sarpanch associated with ruling Aam Aadmi Party was shot dead by bike-borne assailants at Toot village in Tarn Taran district on Tuesday, police said.
Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police Surinder Lamba said three bike-borne assailants allegedly fired multiple shots at victim Ashwani Devgan. He said no prior threat, extortion call or personal enmity has come to the fore yet. Devgan had never demanded police security, the SSP said, adding that a manhunt is underway to trace the assailants.
The killing marks the latest in a string of brazen attacks on sitting and former village heads in state, giving opposition parties fresh ammunition to target the AAP government on law and order.
According to police, the incident took place when Devgan was at the bus stand. The assailants arrived at the spot on a bike and fired several shots at the victim from point-blank range before fleeing. Devgan was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. The CCTV footage of the entire area is being analysed. Police said the assailants will be identified shortly and several teams have been dispatched to different locations to trace them.
Police have gathered some vital clues from the spot, they said. After the incident, the Toot bus stand area was cordoned off as forensic teams from Tarn Taran and neighbouring Amritsar district collected evidence.
The incident comes close on the heels of the murder of a 55-year-old former sarpanch of Mannewal village in Ludhiana who was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants on Saturday evening. The victim, Navjeet Singh Neetu, was on his way to his residence in Ghumar Mandi when he was attacked. In Tarn Taran’s Gaggobuha village, Navdeep Singh, husband of a Shiromani Akali Dal village sarpanch, was shot dead recently following an argument linked to an ongoing feud.
{{/usCountry}}The incident comes close on the heels of the murder of a 55-year-old former sarpanch of Mannewal village in Ludhiana who was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants on Saturday evening. The victim, Navjeet Singh Neetu, was on his way to his residence in Ghumar Mandi when he was attacked. In Tarn Taran’s Gaggobuha village, Navdeep Singh, husband of a Shiromani Akali Dal village sarpanch, was shot dead recently following an argument linked to an ongoing feud.
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