Former Akali sarpanch shot dead by bike-borne assailants in Ludhiana

Former sarpanch Navtej Singh was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants near Ladhowal in Ludhiana early Sunday morning (Express photo/Special arrangement. Enhanced using AI).

A former village sarpanch in his sixties was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in Punjab’s Ludhiana during the late hours Saturday. The victim, identified as Navtej Singh, was intercepted and shot while driving near the Punjab Agro farm in the Ladhowal area.

According to police, the crime occurred around 6 am while Navtej was travelling alone in his Innova from Manewal village to his city residence in Krishna Nagar. Two men on a motorcycle waylaid his vehicle and fired at him before fleeing the scene.

Navtej was immediately rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead on arrival.

Inspector Sukhwinder Singh, Station House Officer of the Ladhowal police station, said that Navtej had previously served as the sarpanch of Manewal village during the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government, and later extended political support to both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The police are currently recording the family’s statement and registering an FIR for murder against the unidentified assailants at the Ladhowal police station.