Gurdaspur: A 27-year-old man was shot dead over an ongoing personal rivalry on Saturday night in Adda village, located near the India-Pakistan border in the Dera Baba Nanak area of Gurdaspur district. The deceased has been identified as Sukhraj Singh, alias Kaka, son of Balkar Singh and the younger brother of Congress sarpanch Navdeep Singh. The deadly incident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. while the victim was returning home on his motorcycle after offering prayers at a local gurdwara.
According to sarpanch Navdeep Singh, Sukhraj had attended a religious event at Gurdwara Tahli Sahib organized for the birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Sri Chand Ji. While on his way back, six unidentified assailants travelling in a Swift car began following his motorcycle. Three of the occupants opened fire from inside the vehicle, pumping four to five bullets into Sukhraj, which resulted in his death on the spot. Navdeep Singh added that the assailants had previously fired shots at them roughly two to three months ago as well. Sukhraj was married and had no children.
Upon receiving the alert, Dera Baba Nanak police station SHO Ashok Kumar arrived at the crime scene alongside senior police officers and a forensic team. Investigators recovered two empty cartridges during the preliminary inspection of the site. The authorities took custody of the body and subsequently transferred it to the Civil Hospital in Batala for an autopsy. Based on a formal statement by the victim’s brother, the police registered a case at the Dera Baba Nanak police station and launched a series of raids to identify and arrest the attackers.
SHO Ashok Kumar clarified that the fatal shooting does not appear to be an organized gang war, but rather the tragic fallout of a longstanding personal enmity between two local factions. Police confirmed that individuals from both sides have a prior history of conflict, with existing criminal charges and cases under the NDPS Act already registered against them.
