ExAkali sarpanch among 4 held for killing Dalit man in Tarn Taran
POLL VIOLENCE Attacked victim’s house on Feb 6; 37 booked in case; 2 women already behind bars
TARNTARAN: Police have arrested former Akali sarpanch Gurpreet Singh “Babbu”, Amarpal Singh “Pala”, Jaswant Singh “Nihang” and Vikramjit Singh “Vicky” for allegedly killing a Dalit man at Palasaur village, 10 km from Tarn Taran, on February 6. Two women — Pawanpreet Kaur and Harpreet Kaur — had already been arrested in the case.
Thirty-three-year-old Surjit Singh was killed and his brother Jaswant Singh was injured after a group of around 50 Akali workers, including former sarpanch Gurpreet Singh, allegedly barged into their house and opened fire on the family at Palasaur.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harjit Singh said the accused were arrested on Saturday. He said an unlicensed a 12-bore gun and four cartridges were recovered from the former sarpanch, while a 32-bore revolver and three bullets were recovered from his brother Amarpal Singh. Sharp-edged weapons which were used in the attack were also recovered from Vikramjit Singh, the SSP said.
“We would present the accused in a court and seek their police remand for interrogation,” the SSP said.
The attackers reportedly held a grudge against the Dalit family, also supporters of the Akali Dal, after the two groups were involved in an altercation during an election meeting on January 29.
This led to a scuffle during which the Dalit family reportedly thrashed one of the rival members. In retaliation, Gurpreet, along with his aides, allegedly stormed into their house two days after the elections. In all 25 gunshots were fired. While Surjit was shot in the forehead and died on the spot, his other brother, Jaswant, received a bullet injury in his leg. Thirty-seven people were booked in the case.