Sarpanch’s murder: Case filed against Mianpur village resident

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, January 18

The investigation into the killing of Awan Kumar Khullar alias Sonu Cheema, Sarpanch of Adda Chabal village, has become an ordeal for the police. Leave aside the arrest of assailants, the shooters of Sonu Cheema are yet to be even identified by the police.

Sonu Cheema, besides being the Sarpanch of Adda Chabal, was a familiar figure in political and social circles of the area. He was shot dead from a close range on Sunday morning when he had gone to a saloon. The Chabal police, acting on the statement of Munish Kumar alias Monu Cheema, brother of the deceased, registered a case under Section 302 and 34 of IPC read along with provisions of the Arms Act against one Amritpal Singh Bath of Mianpur village and others.

The police claim that the accused Amritpal Singh is the mastermind in the case who with the help of his gang members committed the crime. The police said that Amritpal Singh is facing as many as 18 criminal cases registered against him during the past six to seven years and at present is in Germany. DSP Tarsem Masih, one of the investigating officers in the case, said the police have detained as many as five suspects but no solid information has been collected from them. The DSP said that a number of CCTV cameras too have been scanned but except for the fact that the shooter was on a motorcycle driven by his associate and managed to escape to Sarai Amanat Khan (Attari) road, no other information is available with the police.

The police said that to arrest Amritpal Singh from Germany is not an easy job as it can be done only on the intervention of the Union Government. Amritpal Singh’s mother is the Sarpanch of Mianpur, a border area village.

The police was worried over the huge gathering at the cremation of Sonu Cheema which was performed on Wednesday in Cheema village. The administration was also worried over the resentment prevailing among Sonu Cheema’s family members over the failure to identify and arrest the shooter. SSP Ashwani Kapur yesterday claimed that the police had got vital clues about the shooters and that they would be arrested soon.

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