Punjab panchayat polls on Monday took a bloody turn with the “murder” of Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate for Gill Kalan Zila Parishad.
The 42-year-old Harvinder Singh Hinda was found dead at his home in Jethuke village in Bathinda district on Monday morning with the police suspecting that he was killed.
Hinda had filed nomination papers from Gill Kalan Zila Parishad zone, which comes under Maur assembly segment represented by AAP MLA Jagdev Singh Kamalu.
The elections to Zila Parishads and Panchayat Samitis in Punjab are slated to be held on September 19, and counting will take place on September 22.
As per preliminary investigations, the police has observed that Hinda was being murdered, and the deceased was already familiar with his attackers.
“We came to know about the killing of Harvinder Singh Hinda on Monday morning. There was an injury mark on his head. We are investigating the matter,” said Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nanak Singh.
SSP said that we have been informed that three persons had come to meet Hinda the previous night, and the next morning, he was found dead. We suspect that “these three persons”, who know him, are his murderer. Deceased reportedly bore an injury mark on his head.
“The deceased's wife does not know them, but we believe that the AAP leader is already known to them.
Harvinder Singh was killed after receiving injuries at head. Police has already started investigating the case after registration of the FIR,” said the district police chief.
Meanwhile, AAP MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Harpal Singh Cheema sought immediate arrest of those who killed Hinda, while at the same time accusing the Congress of trying to win the Zila Parishad elections “by using force and threatening people”.
“AAP candidate Harvinder Singh Hinda was brutally killed last night. We condemn this incident and we demand from the Punjab Government to immediately arrest those who were behind this,” Cheema said.