Brigadier (retired) Jagdish Gagneja — second-in-command in Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Punjab unit, a bridge between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the RSS in the State, main architect of RSS plan in Punjab, and a former Army man — breathed his last on Thursday morning after battling for his life since August.
The 68-year-old Punjab RSS’ vice-president, Gagneja was shot at thrice by the two “unidentified” bike-borne assailants on August 6. Since then, he was struggling to recover from the injuries. The murderous attack left his intestines and other vital organs ruptured with bullets. He was put on ventilator.
The doctors declared him dead at 9.16 am on Thursday at ludhiana’s DMC Hospital, while citing “multiple organ failure” as the principle cause. “His condition worsened on Wednesday night and his blood pressure fell rapidly on Thursday morning… the spine was ruptured too,” explained the doctors.
Soon as the news of his “deteriorating” condition spread, State’s senior BJP leaders and functionaries started assembling at DMCH.
Due to security reasons, Gagneja’s post-mortem was also conducted at DMCH itself, instead of the civil hospital, in the presence of CBI sleuths, who are probing the case.
Huge posse of police was pressed in for security arrangements causing inconvenience to the patients going to the emergency as the route was diverted.
Scores of BJP workers formed a queue outside DMCH to pay their last tributes. Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore also reached the Hospital to pay his condolences.
Many senior RSS and BJP leaders, including Phul Chand Jain, Anil Sarin, Commissioner of Police Jatinder Singh Aulakh and ludhiana district’s Additional Deputy Commissi-oner Rishi Pal had also reached the hospital in the morning.
BJP workers formed a queue outside the hospital mortuary while the body was being shifted to an ambulance after the post mortem was conducted. ludhiana police personnel formed a human chain outside the ambulance as part of security arrangements.
Slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram were reverberated the environs, while some showered petals on him. The ambulance left from ludhiana for the cremation at 2.43 pm.
The cremation, held at Jalandhar’s Ram Bagh, was attended by the who’s who, including Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, State BJP president and Union Minister Vijay Sampla, among others.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Arpit Shukla and other cops were present outside Gagneja’s house. The city Police was put on high alert and security arrangements were being made at Gagneja’s residence.
KNOW GAGNEJA
Being a part of RSS since five long decades, Gagneja emerged as a powerful leader through the ranks. He joined the right-wing organisation as a pracharak before joining the Indian Army, where he served for around 40 years. He again came into RSS fold as sanghchalak in Jalandhar after leaving Army in 2003.
He went on to become Jalandhar district chief in 2003. Just about five years ago, he became second-in-command in RSS’ Punjab unit after its State president Brij Bhushan Bedi.
Gangneja, coming from a non-RSS family background, became a key person and acted as a bridge between the RSS and the BJP in the state, especially in taking the RSS and BJP ideology to interior parts of Punjab and areas having considerable Dalit population.
He was considered to be a close confidant of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. All his life, he maintained a low profile, working from behind the scenes. He never opted for security
cover or government paraphernalia. In fact, a few days before attack, he turned down security request.
Gagneja spent his college days in Bathinda and after retirement, he settled down in Jalandhar. State BJP leaders describe him as “an asset for the BJP”. He was a hardworking, dedicated and competent leader.
NO HEADWAY IN PROBE
Since the murderous attack on the evening of August 6, Gagneja’s attackers are still unidentified. Despite CBI inquiry and Rs 10 lakh reward money, the inquiry is in a blind alley.
Buckling under the pressure of the RSS and the BJP, the Punjab government decided to hand over the probe to the central investigating agency, CBI, as the State police inquiry hit a dead end.
“While the assailants in such incidents abroad are held the very next, it is unfortunate that the Punjab Police and the CBI is clueless in attack case of Brig Gagneja for the last one and a half months,” said RSS Punjab sanghchalak Brij Bhushan Bedi.
He demanded that the probe be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
While handing over the case to CBI, the government had stated that the decision was taken to widen the probe since the underlying motive in the attack on Gagneja was to disturb peace in Punjab.
The State police had also announced job and Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone who could provide information about the attackers. No arrest has been made in the case.
Dy cm TO MEET RAJNATH
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, after attending the cremation, said that he would meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to get the inquiry expedited via CBI.
He said that the leads are coming regarding the “involvement of a foreign hand”. I would not name the country
as it could hamper investigation, he said.