Sarpanch shot dead in Tarn Taran

Tarn Taran, January 14

A sarpanch of Adda Chabal was shot dead by two assailants at a hair salon in the village on Sunday morning. Awan Kumar Khullar, alias Sonu Cheema, was a well-known figure in the political and social circles of the area as his sister-in-law (wife of younger brother) is the sarpanch of Cheema Kalan, the native village of the family, and his brother is a member of Zila Parishad.

While one masked man entered the saloon and opened fire at Sonu Cheema, the other waited outside. The assailant shot two bullets – one in the stomach and the other in the thigh.

Both of them managed to escape from the spot on a motorcycle. Malkiat Singh, personal assistant of Sonu Cheema, accompanied him immediately to Amritsar where he was admitted at a private hospital. He succumbed to his injuries after over an hour.

SSP Ashwani Kapur claimed that German-based gangster Amritpal Singh Bath, who originally hails from Mianpur, was behind the killing. The SSP revealed that Amritpal Singh had been booked under 18 criminal cases of killing, attempt to murder and other heinous crimes.