Congress Sarpanch's Brother Shot Dead in Gurdaspur; Police Probe Personal Rivalry

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

The victim was identified as Sukhraj Singh, also known as Kaka, the younger brother of Navdeep Singh, the sitting Congress sarpanch of Padda village.

According to the family, Sukhraj had gone to a gurdwara for a religious programme held to mark the birth anniversary of Baba Sri Chand. While he was returning to his village around 8 pm, a group of men travelling in a Maruti Suzuki Swift intercepted him near the village road and opened fire.

Sukhraj sustained multiple bullet injuries and died on the spot.

Police teams reached the scene after the shooting and recovered two empty cartridges. A senior police officer, Ashok Kumar Sharma, said a case had been registered on the basis of a statement given by the family.

Sharma said several criminal cases were already registered against Sukhraj, and that the preliminary investigation pointed to a possible link with an old personal rivalry.

Navdeep Singh said his brother had survived a life-threatening attack a few months earlier in Shahpur Jajan village. He alleged that no concrete action was taken against those responsible for that attack, and claimed the failure to act had contributed to the latest incident.

The family has appealed to senior Punjab Police officials for justice.