Youth Akali Dal worker shot dead in Bathinda
BATHINDA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead Youth Akali Dal (YAD) worker Sukhman Preet Singh Sandhu, 25 at the Thandi Sadak locality in Bathinda on Saturday night.
A resident of Lal Singh Basti locality, Sandhu received a gunshot wound in the head. He was shot at from close range, likely from the right side as he rode his scooter, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gurjeet Singh Romana said on Sunday.
Police recovered a .32 bore pistol, which Romana said belonged to Sandhu, and an empty shell casing from the crime scene.
Sandhu had left home to hand over Rs 40,000 to an unidentified person after he received a phone call, police quoted his mother as saying. Later, the body was recovered from Thandi Sadak. It has now been kept at the Bathinda civil hospital mortuary, Romana said.
Police are scanning Sandhu’s mobile phone data. “Sandhu’s handset has face recognition feature and after the crime, we are unable to open it. Phone call data is being scrutinised to identify the callers who had contacted him last night,” Romana added.
The DSP said Sandhu was facing at least two criminal cases, including one under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, registered last year.
The attempt to murder case was registered against Sandhu during the last assembly elections after he allegedly clashed with Congress workers in the city.
Family members suspect a political angle behind the murder and demand a fair probe.
A murder case has been registered against unidentified persons, but no arrest has been made so far.