Former Nawanshahr Congress MLA’s aide shot dead
Fortnight after kabaddi player’s murder, six assailants gun down Makhan Singh of Kanga village at Rahon fuel station in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district of Punjab and flee
Makhan Singh, an aide of former Nawanshahr Congress MLA Angad Singh Saini, was shot dead at a fuel station at Kanga village on Rahon road in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district on Monday morning.
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Superintendent of police (investigation) Sarabjit Singh Bahia said that 20 bullets were fired from the different weapons at Makhan Singh, who belonged to Kanga village and was facing several criminal cases.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district police chief Kanwardeep Kaur said police teams were on the trail of the accused, while forensic teams were collecting evidence from the spot.
The incident comes only a fortnight after the killing of an international kabaddi player, Sandeep Singh Sandhu, during a tournament at Mallian village of Jalandhar district. Sandhu was also shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified shooters, who pumped in dozens of bullets. The police have been tracing CCTV footage to identify the accused.
A senior police official said that the involvement of gangsters can’t be ruled. Makhan Singh had been attacked in the past, too.
He was going from Kanga to Garcha village, where he lives with his family at his in-laws’ place, after finishing work at his cattle farm. He was riding his scooter and stopped at the fuel station when six assailants came out a Tata Safari SUV and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.
Police said that Makhan Singh’s body had been sent to the civil hospital at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar for post-mortem, while a case was registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at the police station in Rahon.
Makhan Singh is survived by his wife and his two minor children besides a sister.
In a Facebook post, former MLA Saini condemned the killing of Makhan Singh, calling him his younger brother. He cited the recent attack on the kabaddi player and raised a question on the law and order situation in the state. “I demand the immediate arrest of the killers and appeal to the state government to ensure law and order,” the Congress leader added.