Sikh activists’ murder: Kin allege MP Amritpal behind killing, submit plaint to cops

More than a week after Sikh activist Gurpreet Singh was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Hari Nau village in Faridkot district on October 9, the family members of the deceased on Thursday alleged that the Khadoor Sahib MP and Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh and his aides are behind the killing.
Amritpal is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA) and won the Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab earlier this year.
The allegations came after Gurpreet’s kin cremated his body on Wednesday after assurance from the police.
Sukhpreet Singh, cousin brother of Gurpreet said: “I was living along with (Khadoor Sahib MP) Amritpal in Dubai from 2018 to 2021. Gurpreet was also in Dubai during that period. Gurpreet came in touch with Deep Sidhu via social media during the farmers’ protest. When Deep Sidhu formed his organisation ‘Waris Punjab De’ in November 2021, Gurpreet was among the nine primary members. After Sidhu’s death, Amritpal came to India and WPD members, including Gurpreet, appointed him the new chief, but soon differences grew between some WPD primary members and Amritpal over the ideology.”
“Initially, Gurpreet raised these issues with Amritpal but when he did not listen he started expressing his views through social media. After this Amritpal’s aides started spreading hate toward him and also issued threats. Just a few days before Gurpreet’s murder, a few aides of Amritpal had threatened him in person. We are sure Amritpal and his aides got Gurpreet killed. We met the police officials and asked them to investigate role of Amritpal and his aides in Gurpreet’s murder. Amritpal’s men were continuously threatening Gurpreet,” he said.
On October 9, Gurpreet was shot dead by four bike-borne unidentified assailants when he was returning from gurdwara. Gurpreet was also a key supporter of Sukhraj Singh, son of Krishan Bhagwan Singh, one of the victims of the 2015 police firing incident at Behbal Kalan. After the murder, a four-member special investigation team (SIT) led by Faridkot SP (investigation) Jasmeet Singh was formed to probe the case.
As per sources, the police have recovered a motorbike used in the crime and have also questioned more than a dozen persons in connection with the case. However, SIT is yet to identify the shooters.
Faridkot police claimed that they have made ‘significant progress’ in the probe but refused to divulge more details citing ongoing investigations. Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pragya Jain said: “We have made significant progress but the details cannot be shared due to the serious nature of the case. We have briefed the family regarding the investigation as well following which they cremated the body. We have also recorded their statements and are investigating all the possible angles.”