Body of Punjab DSP, an Arjuna Awardee Found Near Canal After New Year's Celebrations in Jalandhar

New Delhi: The body of Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dalbir Singh Deol (54) was found with multiple injury marks near a canal at Basti Bawa Khel in Jalandhar on Monday. Deol was conferred with a gold medal in weightlifting and was later felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 2000. He was posted at Punjab Armed Police (PAP) headquarters in Jalandhar.

Deol had gone for New Year celebrations on Saturday night, however, he didn't return home, Hindustan Times reported.

Speaking to Republic TV, Ranjit Singh, brother of DSP said, "We received the information midnight. The body was lying in the pool of blood and there were visible injury marks on his body. His service revolver was missing too. We want a fair probe”.  

On December 16, an incident occurred involving Kartarpur DSP Balbir Singh Deol, who, while inebriated, opened fire following a dispute with residents of Basti Ibrahim Khan village in Jalandhar. The disagreement happened when the villagers objected to Deol and village sarpanch Bhupinder Singh Gill consuming liquor in public. The confrontation turned ugly, resulting in Deol brandishing his weapon. A video had also emerged showing the DSP and the sarpanch engaging in a heated argument with the villagers.

Eyewitnesses reported that Deol fired four rounds before the villagers managed to overpower both the DSP and the sarpanch, subsequently handing them over to the police. Despite the severity of the incident, Deol was briefly detained but released the next day.