Amritsar: Two persons allegedly linked to his former in-laws shot dead an NRI in front of his family at his house in Daburji village on the outskirts of the city on Saturday, police said.
The attackers have been identified and will be arrested soon, it was said.
Following the incident, opposition parties attacked the A government over law and order in the state, claiming that the A government has turned Punjab into a danger zone due to its “incompetence”.
Sukhchain Singh, who had recently returned from the United States, was shot in front of his wife and two children from his first marriage, police said.
The incident occurred around 7 am when Singh was out for a morning walk.
He was intercepted in front of his house by two attackers on motorcycles who asked him for the registration papers of his luxury car, police said.
Before he could understand anything, the two pulled out their guns and forcibly dragged him into his house.
Inside, the attackers beat Singh, fired three shots at him and fled.
One bullet hit Singh in the head and one near the chest. Singh was taken to a private hospital, police said. He is currently out of danger.
Footage from the surveillance camera installed in the victim’s house shows Singh’s wife and children begging the attackers to let him go.
Singh’s family claimed that his first wife’s family was behind the attack.
Police said proceedings had been initiated against five relatives of his first wife, who committed suicide about two years ago.
Special Director General of Police RN Dhoke met the NRI’s family.
Dhoke later told reporters that one of the attackers was from Kapurthala and the other from Jalandhar.
He said warning notices had been issued for both attackers, one of whom faces 10 charges of drug abuse and psychotropic substances and other crimes, while the other also has a criminal record.
“We will investigate and if we catch them, we can determine the motive,” Dhoke said.
Several police teams from Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Chandigarh are working on the case and several places in Punjab have been searched in search of the fugitives, police said.
There is a possibility that more than two people were involved in the crime, police said.
Meanwhile, the opposition sharply criticized the Aam Aadmi Party government over the brazen shooting.
Punjab Congress leader and MP for Ludhiana Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the government of incompetence.
“NRIs who were once proud to call Punjab their home now live in FEAR! An NRI shot dead in his house in front of his family! @APunjab govt, your incompetence has made Punjab a danger zone!
“Bhagwant mann ji, Punjab needs action not ‘Bhashan’ #AFails #PunjabInShambles #LawAndOrder,” Warring said in a post on X.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal said law and order in Punjab had “completely deteriorated”.
“I am very sad about the current situation in Punjab,” he posted on X in Punjabi.
“Such incidents happen every day in this state. The people of Punjab are not even safe in their homes,” he said, demanding that the Punjab Chief Minister resign on moral grounds.
BJP leader Preneet Kaur said such incidents show that no one is safe in Punjab.
“I appeal to Bhagwant Mann to maintain law and order in the state,” she said.
A politician, Neel Garg, hit back at the opposition, accusing them of politicising a family dispute and deliberately linking the incident to public order in the state.
The party spokesman said the NRI’s family had issued a statement saying the attack was carried out by his ex-wife’s family. He himself had strongly criticised the opposition leaders for trying to “exploit the situation for political gain”.
He said Mann had instructed the DGP to take strict action against the perpetrators.
Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, he said the law and order situation in Punjab was better compared to its BJP-ruled neighbouring states.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications.
