A Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, said to be a close aide of former Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, was killed in Amritsar’s Umarpura village after being shot at by unidentified assailants.
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Terming the murder as “politically-motivated”, the SAD has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Police said the 50-year-old Gurdeep Singh was killed on January 1 after motorcycle-borne assailants shot at him when he was coming out of a local gurdwara after offering prayers. Gurdeep Singh’s wife is a village head (sarpanch) of the Umarpura village.
Station House Officer Tarsem Singh at Majithia told reporters that five persons have been booked in connection with the murder and police teams were conducting raids in search of the assailants, who fled the spot after the incident.
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Hitting out at the ruling Congress, Mr. Majithia said the killing of Gurdeep Singh was a “political murder”. “The political assassination of Baba Gurdeep Singh was a direct result of threats being issued to him, warning of dangerous consequences if he did not stop speaking against the minister-gangster nexus. A message has been sent to me that my close political associates will be targeted if I do not stop speaking for justice for former Akali Sarpanch Dalbir Dhilwan, who was also murdered in the same way as Baba Gurdeep Singh,” Mr. Majithia alleged.
“There should be a CBI probe into the incident,” he said.