Beant Singh's grandson dies from gunshot wound; suicide suspected

Harkirat Singh, grandson of Punjab's late chief minister Beant Singh, died of a gun-shot wound here on Sunday afternoon, police officials said, adding investigations were on to ascertain if it was suicide.

Harkirat, who was found injured in his house here, was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here where doctors pronounced him dead, said Neeraj Sarna, the officer in charge of Sector 3 police station.

Police officials said that it was a suspected case of suicide.

"We are investigating the reason behind the incident. We are not ruling out anything," Sarna said.

Harkirat, 40, was staying in the official bungalow, which has high security around it, allotted to Beant Singh's family in Sector 5 here. The family continues to enjoy high-level security provided by Punjab Police and paramilitary forces.

Younger son of former Punjab minister and Congress leader Tej Prakash Singh (Beant Singh's son), Harkirat was facing health issues following an accident last year.

He was the sarpanch (headman) of his family's native village, Kotli, in Ludhiana district.

Harkirat's elder brother Gurkirat Singh Kotli is a sitting Congress legislator and his cousin Ravneet Singh Bittu is a Congress MP from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat.

Beant Singh, who was credited with restoring normalcy in Punjab in early 1990s after many years of terrorism, was assassinated on August 31, 1995, by a suicide bomber at the Punjab Secretariat Complex here.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday expressed profound grief and sorrow on the untimely demise of Harkirat Singh.

His death was condoled by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh.

--IANS

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