Shiromani Akali Dal leader shot dead in Amritsar: Police

A local Shiromani Akali Dal leader was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne assailants at Umarpura village in Amritsar when he was coming out of a gurdwara after offering prayers, police said on Thursday. Gurdeep Singh, whose wife is a village head, was killed on Wednesday, they said. The assailants managed to flee after pumping five bullets into Singh, who died on the spot, they said.

Singh was said to be a close associate of senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia. The police have booked five people including a father-son duo, Nirmal Singh and Harmanjeet Singh, in connection with the killing. The police said Harmanjeet is wanted in several criminal cases.

Station House Officer Tarsem Singh said raids were being conducted at their possible hideouts to nab them. The police are also examining CCTV footage obtained from nearby areas. This is a second fatal attack on SAD functionaries in the state since November last year when the party's Dalbir Singh Dhilwan was killed in Gurdaspur. The SAD had described Dhilwan's killing as a "political murder".