Hindustan Times (Patiala)

CONG CANDIDATE’S HUSBAND HELD FOR MOWING DOWN 2 SAD MEN

Accused Narinderpa­l Singh Sidhu was arrested along with two Congress supporters, Jasmail Singh and Pamma, said police

- Harmandeep Singh harmandeep.singh@htlive.com

MOGA : A convoy of four sports utility vehicles led by the husband of a Congress candidate of the Moga municipal corporatio­n allegedly ran over and killed two Akali workers when they were campaignin­g for their party candidate on Kacha Doshanj road on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

Moga DSP (city) Barjinder Singh said, “Narinderpa­l Singh Sidhu, the husband of Congress’ Moga ward number 9 candidate Paramjeet Kaur, ran over his Mitsubishi Pajero SUV on the two Akali Dal workers, killing them on the spot.

Gurtej Singh Kullar, 45, husband of Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from Ward 9, and another supporter were also injured.

Sidhu was arrested along with two Congress supporters, Jasmail Singh and Pamma.

MOGA : In a brazen act of poll violence, a convoy of four sports utility vehicles led by the husband of a Congress candidate of the Moga municipal corporatio­n allegedly ran over and killed two Akali workers when they were campaignin­g for their party candidate on Kacha Doshanj road on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

Gurtej Singh Kullar, 45, husband of Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from Ward 9, and another supporter were also injured. At least 40 supporters of both the parties and three cops, including focal point chowki in-charge, were present at the crime.

Moga DSP (City) Barjinder Singh said, “Narinderpa­l Singh Sidhu, the husband of Moga ward number 9 candidate of the Congress party Paramjeet Kaur, ran over his Mitsubishi Pajero SUV on the two Shiromani Akali Dal workers, killing Harminder Singh on the spot, while Jagdeep Singh succumbed to injuries at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC), Ludhiana. Harminder belonged to Moga town and Jagdeep was a resident of Tarewala village in the district,”

Sidhu was arrested along with two Congress supporters, Jasmail Singh and Pamma. The prime accused, Sidhu, has business

interest in local cable TV network and had remained a councillor twice from Ward 9 of the erstwhile local municipal council.

A search is on for Sidhu’s son Jaslovepre­et Singh, 30 and other Congress workers, identified as Lally, TT Sharma and Happy, residents of SBS Nagar and Moga. All 10 Congress activists have been booked under Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at the city police station, say the police.

In his complaint, Kullar said that Narinderpa­l Singh Sidhu was driving a white Pajero (PB-10-DJ-9597) while Jasmel Singh and his two nephews were also seated in the vehicle. The Mahindra Bolero SUV was being driven by Jaslovepre­et Singh, son of the Congress candidate. Besides, they also had a Fortuner and Scorpio SUV in their convoy. “Our two workers were crushed under one of the SUVs,” he alleged.

Police sources said the incident took place in the presence of the police at 9.15 pm on Tuesday. Two police control room (PCR) personnel and the in-charge of the Focal Point police post were present at the crime spot. When contacted, Moga senior superinten­dent of

police Harmanbir Singh said, “A department­al inquiry has been initiated against the police personnel present at the spot. If any negligence is found, strict action will be taken against them.”

Ward number 9 in Moga is reserved for women. Sidhu’s wife Paramjeet Kaur of the Congress is pitted against Kulwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Gurbhej Singh Kular, the husband of the SAD candidate, was campaignin­g for her with his supporters near Harminder’s house when both sides had a confrontat­ion on Tuesday night.

They started an argument when both parties accused each other for liquor distributi­on to woo voters. However, the police authoritie­s claimed they did not find any evidence of liquor distributi­on. DSP Barjinder Singh said, “Both sides had an argument that led to a scuffle. In a fit of anger, Sidhu ran over his SUV on the two Akali workers. Besides impounding the Pajero, a Mahindra Bolero SUV was also confiscate­d from the spot. The other accused will be arrested soon.”

We condemn the incident: Congress MLA

Makhan Singh Brar, the area in-charge of the SAD, said, “After campaignin­g, Kulwinder, her

husband and supporters were standing on the street when Sidhu, the husband of the Congress candidate, started abusing our workers. Our workers exercised restraint and didn’t reply but Sidhu and his supporters brought about 10 vehicles and ran over two of our workers.”

Moga Congress MLA Harjot Kamal Singh said, “The party has nothing to do with this incident.

Sukhbir urges guv to dismiss SEC

BATHINDA: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday urged the Punjab governor to intervene immediatel­y to stop political violence. Reacting to the murder of two Akali workers allegedly by a Congress leader late on Tuesday night in Moga, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the State Election Commission should own the responsibi­lity for growing lawlessnes­s.

He said it was the third incident after Jalalabad and Bhikhiwind when the Akali workers were attacked by Congress leaders. “The governor should dismiss the SEC for its failure in safeguardi­ng the democratic principles. It is more than a fortnight that we demanded the deployment of paramilita­ry forces, but the SEC has not responded to it,” said Sukhbir.

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 ?? HT ?? Main accused Narinderpa­l Singh (left) and victims Harminder Singh and Jagdeep Singh.
HT Main accused Narinderpa­l Singh (left) and victims Harminder Singh and Jagdeep Singh.

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