FARIDKOT, Punjab—A clash between two rival factions of Shiromani Akal Dal at Chet Singh Wala village, Faridkot, led to the murder of a Sikh youth after a drunk police officer opened fire. As per news reports, some election officials were also injured in the clash. The deceased Pavitar Singh, 22, was a turbaned Sikh with untrimmed beard. Sikh24 has been told his parents are amritdhari, however there is no speculation if he was shot at because of his religious affiliation.
The clash took place yesterday around 11 PM after local “sarpanch” (village chief) elections. People supporting the losing candidate started condemning the poll results and the situation became violent when they accused the poll officials of manipulating the election results. As per police statements, the inspector on duty, Gurcharan Singh had to open fire to bring the situation under control. However a bullet fired from his service revolver hit Pavitar Singh who died shortly after.
As per a statement by the father of Pavitar Singh, the police had fired deliberately to terrorize the villagers. He further alleged that the police inspector was drunk while on duty and had conspired, along with the polling staff, to elect Parminder Singh as the village sarpanch. He told the press that shortly after the incident, the guilty police inspector and other staff of the police had fled the scene.
A case has been registered against the the winning sarpanch Parminder Singh and Inspector Gurcharan Singh for the murder of Pavitar Singh. The losing candidate, Inderjit Singh and some other villagers have also been booked for attacking the polling team. Â Inspector Gurcharan Singh is still at large.
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