Sikh activists murder: Kin alleges MP Amritpal behind murder, files complaint with police

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 relatives of the deceased on Thursday alleged that the Khadoor MLA Sahib and Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh and his aides are behind the murder.

Amritpal is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA) and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab earlier this year.

The allegations came after Gurpreet’s relatives cremated his body on Wednesday following assurances from the police.

Sukhpreet Singh, Gurpreet’s first cousin, said, “I lived along with (Khadoor Sahib MP) Amritpal in Dubai from 2018 to 2021. Gurpreet was also in Dubai during that period. Gurpreet contacted Deep Sidhu through social media during the farmers’ protest. When Deep Sidhu formed his organization “Waris Punjab De” in November 2021, Gurpreet was among the nine core members. After Sidhu’s death, Amritpal came to India and members of the WPD, including Gurpreet, appointed him as the new chief, but differences soon grew between some senior members of the WPD and Amritpal over ideology.”

“Initially Gurpreet raised these issues with Amritpal, but when he didn’t listen he started voicing his views through social media. After that, Amritpal’s aides started spreading hatred towards to him and they also issued threats.A few days before Gurpreet’s murder, a few of Amritpal’s aides had threatened him.We are sure that Amritpal and his aides killed Gurpreet police and we asked them to investigate the 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 unidentified bike-borne assailants when he was returning from the 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) headed by Faridkot SP (investigation) Jasmeet Singh was formed to investigate the case.

According to sources, the police have recovered a motorcycle used in the crime and have also questioned more than a dozen people related to the case. However, the SIT is yet to identify the shooters.

The Faridkot police claimed to have made “significant progress” in the investigation, but declined to divulge further details citing ongoing investigations. Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pragya Jain said, “We have made significant progress but details cannot be shared due to the seriousness of the case. We have informed the family of the investigation and after cremation of the body. We have also recorded his statements and are investigating all possible angles.”