Days after murder of Akali sarpanch’s husband, accused ‘tries to kill’ his aide

SANGRUR:THOUGH the police have failed to arrest the man who allegedly murdered a government teacher — husband of an Akali sarpanch — of Mubarakpur Choongan village of Sangrur on October 30, the accused on Wednesday made an attempt to kill another man of the village.

Accused Harpreet Singh alias Happy, who had allegedly murdered Harkirat Singh — a resident of Mubarakpur Choongan and husband of sarpach Manpreet Kaur — came to the village, along with his father and an associate in a car on Wednesday. He allegedly fired on Balwant Singh, who is learnt to be Harkirat’s supporter, from a .12 bore gun.

Balwant, however, escaped the firing even as the bullets hit the walls of his house.

“After Harkirat’s murder, we were helping his family members. Besides, Happy is laying his claim on a plot which I purchased in 2001. The matter is in a Malerkotla court. On Wednesday, Happy came along with his father Harmil Singh Singh and an accomplice, Gurdarshan Singh. They were carrying weapons. He fired at me. But god saved me even as some bullets hit our walls,” Balwant Singh told HT.

Though Happy is again on the run, the police managed to arrest his father Harmail. He was produced in a court on Thursday, which sent him to three-day police custody. “We are conducting raids at various places to arrest Happy. He will be behind the bars soon,” said Malerkotla deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Yogi Raj.

The residents of the village said they are living under panic as Happy is on the run after committing a murder and then making an attempt to murder, within 10 days. Happy and one of his accomplices had allegedly shot dead Harkirat, 44, when he was going on a bike, along with a colleague, to the government school in Burj village on October 30. Harkirat was a leader of Adhayapak Dal (Punjab), affiliated to the Shiromani Akali Dal.