Ex-kabaddi player murder: Kin refuse cremation till all accused held; one arrested, say police

Gagandeep’s killing was the fourth such incident in four days in Punjab. On Sunday, a sarpanch was killed at a wedding function in Amritsar. Prior to that, a Congress worker was shot dead at Bhinder Kalan in Moga on Saturday, while a woman was gunned down at her home in Kapurthala on Friday.

Gagandeep’s mother Gurmeet Kaur, on whose complaint an FIR has been lodged, said: “There’s no question of cremating the body till all the accused are not arrested.”

According to the FIR registered at Hathur police station, those booked include Gursewak Singh, Nikka Singh alias Gharu, Pardeep Das alias Pappa, Jaspal Singh Hansa — all from Manuke village — and Gurdeep Singh of Badhi Kalan, Moga, and their 7-8 unidentified accomplices.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jagraon, Ankur Gupta said that multiple teams have been pressed into action and raids are being conducted to nab the accused. The car used in the crime has also been recovered. One of the accused was arrested Monday.

Gurmeet Kaur said that on December 31, Gursewak Singh had attacked Ekam with swords to which Gagandeep had objected. She said that since then Gursewak started nursing a grudge against Gagandeep. She added that on Monday, Ekam and Gursewak again had a tiff. She added that sometime later, she saw a group of men on bikes and a car rushing towards Dana Mandi where Gagandeep and Ekam were present. She said that the assailants opened an attack on his son Gagandeep and Ekam following which they ran towards fields. Soon Gursewak and Gurdeep opened fire at Gagandeep who collapsed on the ground and then the assailants kept thrashing him.

The FIR has been registered under the sections 103 (murder), 303 (2) (theft), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), 190 (unlawful assembly), 191 (3) (rioting) of BNS and 25/54/59 of Arms Act.

Gagandeep’s wife Navpreet Kaur said that her husband had stopped playing kabaddi but had been promoting Ekam. She said Gursewak and other were against Ekam playing kabaddi.

In a statement, Ludhiana Rural SP (investigation) Rajan Sharma said: “The incident was a fallout of old rivalry between both groups. One accused Gurdeep Singh of Badhni Kalan has been arrested and the car used in the crime has been seized. No link related to kabaddi tournaments or related issues has surfaced so far.”

The incident in Ludhiana came close on the heels of murder of a 30-year-old kabaddi player-cum-promoter Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria in Mohali last month.