Jalalabad: In a gruesome act of violence on Thursday night, a 58-year-old farmer from the Jalalabad sub-division of Fazilka district in Punjab was killed along with his son, a 28-year-old. Previous leaseholders were involved in the dispute that culminated in the killing of the victims, Avtar Singh and his son Harmeet Singh.
According to Karaj Singh, the brother of the deceased Avtar Singh, Avtar had leased land in Paka village, which had previously been leased by three brothers: Palwinder Singh, Raghbir Singh, and Balbir Singh. In particular, the leaseholders grudged against Avtar and seized the ground that had been leased before.
The three arrived when farmer Avtar and Harmeet were overseeing the provision of water on the farm fields they leased on the evening of the attack. The attackers, bearing a revolver, fired at Harmeet first before joining Avtar to shoot him. They then used a hammer and other hard objects to hit the two men and consequently killed them in the process.
Karaj Singh told the court that the problem originated from the fact that Avtar had been tilling the land for the last two years, and this was viewed with a lot of resentment by the earlier tenants. Harmeet, who had come to be a father for a few months, was also affected by this violent act.
Police reached the spot after receiving calls on the occurrence, besides sealing the bodies and shifting them to Civil Hospital Fazilka for post-mortem. Fazilka Senior Superintendent of Police Pragya Jain said that a case has been lodged, and one accused has been arrested, while police are looking for other accused persons.
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