Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 25: A man was killed while a Sarpanch and his sister were injured today when some armed men attacked them in Rakh Barn Patta area falling under the jurisdiction of police station Gharota.
The deceased has been identified as Kashmir Singh (50) son of Tunda Singh, resident of Lamberi (Nowshera) while the injured have been identified as Sarpanch of Rakh Baran Patta, Dalbir Singh (51) son of late Balwant Singh and his sister, Geeta Devi (50) wife of Babu Singh, both residents of Patta Baran.
According to the reports, Kashmir Singh was the cousin of Dalbir Singh and had come at the latter’s residence. At about 1 AM during the intervening night of February 25 and 26, some armed men in a vehicle reached Dalbir’s residence and first they shot dead the domestic dog of the house and after locking all the rooms of the house from outside, they, in a bid to kill Sarpanch Dalbir, fired several bullets from the window of the room where Dalbir and his cousin Kashmir Singh were sleeping.
One of the bullets hit Kashmir Singh in the head and the other one hit Dalbir in the abdomen. After hearing sounds of bullets and hue and cry of the other family members locked in different rooms, Dalbir’s sister Geeta, who lives in a nearby house, rushed to the spot but she was also shot in the leg when she tried to stop the assailants from fleeing.
Meanwhile, on getting information, a police team from Gharota police station as well as senior officers including SDPO Akhnoor, Ajay Sharma and SP Rural Suram Singh rushed to the spot and shifted the dead and the injured in Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu. The Forensic and Crime teams were also called out at the crime scene to collect evidences.
While the body of the deceased was handed over to his legal heirs for last rites after getting conducted postmortem, the condition of the two injured persons were stated to be stable till the last reports came in.
Police sources told Excelsior that as per the preliminary investigation, the assailants were of the same Panchayat and had old enmity with Sarpanch Dalbir Singh, since last Panchayat elections. “As per the statement of the injured woman, the assailants were Saudagar Singh son of Sindoor Singh of Rati Chappari (Barn) and his brothers,” they further said, adding, the accused are in police detention and being interrogated.
Meanwhile, SP Rural Suram Singh told Excelsior that a case under relevant sections of Law has been registered at police station Gharota and investigation is in progress. “Some suspects based on preliminary investigation have been rounded up and soon the culprits will be in jail,” he added.
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