Drunk BSF jawans kill farmer, son

Border Security Force jawans on patrolling duty along the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur shot dead a farmer and his teenaged son at Thakupura village after a minor scuffle late last night.

Border Security Force BSF jawans on patrolling duty along the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur shot dead a farmer and his teenaged son at Thakupura village after a minor scuffle late last night.

The jawans from the B Company of 109 Battalion of BSF were reportedly enraged when Shingara Singh, the victim, asked them not to consume liquor near his house. A few minutes later, they returned with their weapons, dragged Shingara Singh out of his house and shot him dead. His 15-year-old son Daljit Singh was also killed when he tried to intervene.

The cold-blooded killings sent shock waves in the region and angry locals blocked the Gurdaspur-Pathankot road for nearly three hours today, demanding the arrest of the BSF personnel.

The Gurdaspur police have booked four BSF jawans, identified as Kanu Chakarborti, Shatrugan Singh, Mohammad Latif and Subbu, according to SSP Gurdaspur Lok Nath Angre.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Shingara Singh8217;s wife Balwinder Kaur in which she alleged that the BSF jawans were consuming liquor at their village just 1500 metre away from the border. When her husband and son objected to it, they threatened them with dire consequences. She said the jawans retreated but only for a few minutes after which they returned with loaded rifles, dragged her husband out of the house and shot him in cold blood.

When their son Daljit went to his father8217;s rescue, they shot him too. Both of them were rushed to district civil hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.

When local residents blocked the highway in protest, SSP Angre and DC, Gurdaspur, Vivek Pratap Singh reached the spot to take stock of the situation and tried to calm down the protesters by promising to arrest the accused.

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BSF DIG, Gurdaspur, R C Saxena, apologised for the incident and called it 8220;shameful8221;. He said they had suspended all the four jawans who were on patrolling duty at the border last night. 8220;We have suspended the BSF jawans and handed them over to the police8221;, said the DIG, refusing to comment on the reason for the crime.

The BSF jawans have been booked under Sections 302 and 452 of the IPC and 34 and 27 of the Arms Act. The bullets used in the crime were also recovered during the search of the area, said Harpreet Singh, SP HQs Gurdaspur.

The DC said he had forwarded the case to the state Government for suitable compensation to the aggrieved family.