Police on Saturday arrested an autorickshaw driver and his son, both residents of Patti Chohle Kutbewal Gujjaran, in connection with the murder of former Manewal sarpanch Navtej Singh.
The alleged shooters, Manjinder Singh, alias Goru, and Harpreet Singh, alias Preet, have been identified, and police teams are conducting raids to apprehend them. He died at the spot. Alamjeet had alleged that his father’s dispute with his cousin had led to a conspiracy to eliminate him by hiring contract killers. Roor maintained that the transaction was unfair and illegal, claiming he also had a share in the property. The disagreement eventually led to litigation.
A senior police official said the dispute centred on a 1.5-kanal plot that Navtej’s father had purchased from Roor Singh’s sister nearly two decades ago.
The accused have been identified as Roor Singh and his son Jaswinder Singh, alias Raja, a pickup driver, according to police. Additional commissioner of police (ACP) Rupinder Singh said, “The investigation established that Jaswinder allegedly conspired to eliminate Navtej over the property dispute and enlisted two friends to execute the murder. Two motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on him, inflicting seven bullet injuries, according to the police. However, the police said the investigation yielded no evidence implicating the initially nominated accused in the murder. Navtej had twice got Roor and his family booked for allegedly attempting to take possession of the disputed land, according to the ACP. The property had become a source of mounting resentment for Roor and his son, who, the police said, were not financially well off.
The police said the duo orchestrated the attack over a longstanding dispute involving 1.5 kanals of land and have ruled out the involvement of the victim’s cousin and other relatives initially named in the case, saying the investigation found no evidence linking them to the killing.
