Akali men block road to protest killing of party workers

Several SAD-BJP workers today blocked the main GT Road (NH-95) near octroi post to protest the attack on the family of an Akali leader in which his father and brother were shot dead.
As a result, dozens of vehicles remained stranded throughout the day and commuters faced problems as this road was the only way passing through the town which also links it to Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana and other places.
The protest was triggered after Harnam Singh and his son Joginder Singh were shot dead, while Balwinder Singh was wounded after an altercation allegedly over old enmity at Rukanshah Wala village here yesterday, police said.

The incident had taken place when Lakhwinder Singh along with his accomplices had gone to meet Balwinder at his house last morning.
Their discussion soon turned into an altercation and Lakhwinder allegedly shot at them, police said.
Balwinder is the district vice-president of SAD (Rural), while her mother Amar Kaur is a member of village panchayat.

Though, the police registered an FIR against Lakhwinder alias Lakha Dhillon, who is the main suspect, besides his brother Ranjit Singh, Karaj Singh and several others, all of whom have allegiance to Congress.
The Akali workers have been demanding inclusion of more names in the FIR including that of Jasmail Singh Laddi Gehri, who is the spouse of sitting Congress MLA from Ferozepur (Rural) Satkar Kaur, alleging it has been excluded due to political pressure.

Joginder Singh Jindu, ex-SAD MLA, said the the protest will continue tomorrow also, and they will not relent and allow the cremation to take place until they get justice.
The road blockade was lifted in the evening after senior superintendent of police Gaurav Garg reached the spot around 5.30 pm and intervened.
While rebutting allegations that the police was working under political pressure, the SSP said a thorough probe was being conducted into the incident and anyone found guilty would not be spared notwithstanding political lineage.
He said the police has already launched a manhunt to nab the accused named in the FIR.