Kapurthala: In a brazen act of violence that has once again cast a shadow over the law-and-order situation in Punjab, a pivotal witness in the high-profile Sukha Kahlwan murder case was shot dead in the early hours of Friday. The victim, identified as Gurpreet Singh, also known as Gopi Nijjar, was reportedly a resident of Jairampur village and a long-time associate of the slain gangster Sukha Kahlwan. According to police reports, the attack occurred around 3:45 a.m. near Avon Palace on the GT Road in the Dhilwan area of Kapurthala while Nijjar was alone in his private vehicle.
Preliminary investigations suggest that unidentified armed assailants intercepted Nijjar’s car and opened indiscriminate fire from the front. Photographs from the scene, which have since circulated on social media, show the vehicle’s windshield riddled with bullet holes and the victim slumped in the driver’s seat. Medical officials confirmed that Nijjar sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including fatal hits to the chest, and was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital. This assassination is particularly significant as Nijjar was considered the last remaining witness in the Sukha Kahlwan case who had refused to turn hostile despite repeated threats and warnings from his rivals.
Shortly after the incident, a criminal group known as the Donny Bal gang claimed responsibility for the killing through a social media post. The group alleged that the hit was a form of retaliation, citing Nijjar’s purported ties to the Lawrence gang and his previous celebratory comments regarding the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala and gangster Vicky Gounder. While the police have acknowledged these claims, they have not yet officially confirmed the involvement of any specific gang, stating that all digital leads are being thoroughly examined.
Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Toora arrived at the scene to oversee the initial probe and confirmed that a case under the murder sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act has been registered. District-wide alerts have been issued, and specialized police teams are currently scanning CCTV footage from the GT Road stretch and surrounding areas to identify the vehicles used by the attackers. The body has been shifted to the Kapurthala Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination as the community remains on high alert following this latest escalation in provincial gang rivalries.
