AAP MLA Gogi dies of gunshot wound, cops say ‘accidental firing’ from own pistol

According to AAP’s Punjab unit chief Aman Arora, the incident took place when Gogi was cleaning his pistol late Friday night at his residence in Ghumar Mandi area. Arora, who met Gogi’s grieving family in Ludhiana, said the MLA would clean the pistol everyday. “While he was doing so Friday night, it got fired accidentally and claimed his life,” Arora said.

The incident took place at Gogi’s residence in the Ghumar Mandi area. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)

DCP (investigation) Shubham Aggarwal too said that “prima facie, it was an accidental fire from his 25 bore pistol”. He added that the case is under investigation.

DCP Jaskiran Singh Teja said the incident took place around 11.45 pm and Gogi died by the time he was taken to DMCH. “According to his family, he had attended several meetings during the day. Family said that he was in his room when they heard a gunshot.,” added DCP Teja.

Hours before his death, Gogi had held a meeting with Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and party’s Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal over the issue of cleaning of Buddha Nullah. Gogi had hit the headlines last year in August when he demolished the foundation stone of Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project that he himself had laid as he was upset over the delay in carrying out the work by the departments concerned.

On Friday, he had also visited the Prachin Sheetla Mata Mandir in BRS Nagar where a theft had taken place recently and had assured justice in the matter.

Gogi’s last rites were held at the cremation ground near KVM School in Civil Lines with his son Shavraj Singh Bassi lighting the funeral pyre. He was given a gun salute by local police.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Speaker Sandhwan, AAP MPs Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Seechewal and Sanjeev Arora, and Cabinet ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Lal Chand Kataruchak and Tarunpreet Singh Saund were among those who attended the cremation. Former Congress MP Mohammad Sadique, former Akali minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, and BJP leaders Anil Sareen and Parveen Bansal were also present at the cremation ground.

Mann said Gogi has left a void in AAP and in the hearts of the people. “He never approached me for any personal task. Whenever he met, he always discussed development plans of his constituency,” said Mann.

In a post on X, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said Gogi was “a leader who served his people with unwavering dedication and compassion”.

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria too expressed grief.

Gogi began his political career with the Congress in 1996. His wife Sukhchain Bassi was elected a councillor in Ludhiana municipal corporation in 2002. Later Gogi was elected as councillor for three consecutive terms. He also became the Congress’s Ludhiana district president (urban) and served as the chairman of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation during the previous Congress regime. After a 26-year-long association, he quit Congress to join AAP ahead of the Assembly elections in state 2022 and was given a ticket from Ludhiana West. A first-time MLA, he had defeated former Congress minister and two-time MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu by more than 7,000 votes. His wife unsuccessfully contested the municipal corporation elections last month.

A businessman with diverse commercial interests such as a private hostel, a gun house and a driving school, Gogi was fond of collecting weapons, antiques, and luxury cars.

Leaders cutting across party lines paid tributes to Gogi.

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, “I am short of words…My sympathies are with the family members and supporters”.

Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa said Gogi’s death is “an immense and irreparable loss, not only to his family but also to the countless people he represented and served with dedication in the assembly.”

Former chief minister and BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh said he was “deeply saddened by the shocking and tragic demise of Gurpreet Gogi”.