Congress Leader's Brother Shot Dead In Punjab, Cops Suspect Personal Rivalry

A 27-year-old man was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Saturday, with the police suspecting a personal rivalry.

The victim was identified as Sukhraj Singh alias Kaka, the younger brother of Padda village's incumbent Congress sarpanch, Navdeep Singh.

According to the family, he had gone to a gurdwara to pay obeisance during a religious programme organised to mark the birth anniversary of Baba Sri Chand.

While returning to his village around 8 pm, he was intercepted near the village road by unidentified men travelling in a Maruti Suzuki Swift car. The assailants allegedly opened fire at Singh. He sustained multiple bullet injuries and died at the spot.

Following the shooting, police teams reached the spot and recovered two empty cartridges.

A senior police officer, Ashok Kumar Sharma, said a case has been registered on the basis of the statement given by the family.

He stated that several criminal cases were registered against Singh, said the preliminary investigation suggests that the killing may have been linked to an old personal rivalry.

Navdeep Singh said his brother had survived a life-threatening attack a few months ago in Shahpur Jajan village.

He alleged that no concrete action had been taken against those responsible for the earlier attack, and claimed that the failure to act had contributed to the latest incident.

The family appealed to senior Punjab Police officials for justice.