BATHINDA: Gangster-turned-social activist Kulbir Singh of Naruana village in Bathinda district and one of his gunmen Chamkaur Singh were killed allegedly by his old accomplice on Wednesday morning.
Gurpreet Singh, another aide, was injured in the shootout outside Kulbir’s residence in the village. Accused Manjinder Singh Manna has been arrested and two weapons used in the crime seized from him. In all, eight rounds were fired, sources said.
The gangster-turned-activist (39) had survived a similar attack 17 days back, when someone fired at his bullet-proof SUV near Bathinda. Later, one Bhalla Sekhu in a Facebook post had taken responsibility for the attack, saying his accomplice Fateh Nagri had fired at Kulbir.
Manjinder Singh Manna from Talwandi Sabo had been with Kulbir for several years and was his trusted lieutenant. Sources said Manna had a fight with Kulbir’s close associate Aziz at Talwandi Sabo two days ago. Kulbir had called both for a compromise and scolded Manna. “Manna reached Kulbir’s residence in his SUV on Wednesday morning. They spent some time in the vehicle and even had green tea. When Kulbir came out of the SUV and was heading towards the gate, Manna fired three shots at him. As Kulbir’s gunmen Chamkaur and Gurpreet rushed to his rescue, Manna fired at them too and sped away. An injured Chamkaur was also run over by the SUV. Kulbir, Chamkaur and Gurpreet were taken to a hospital where Kulbir and Chamkaur were declared dead,” said Bathinda SSP Bhupinderjit Singh Virk.
Sources said Manna, who had taken drugs and stopped near Ghudda village, fell unconscious on the road. A policeman took him to a community health centre and informed the Bathinda police. Later, police took him into custody and brought him to a hospital, cops said. Kulbir had over a dozen cases of attempt to murder, arms act against him but was acquitted in a number of cases and had been cosying up with politicians. He had joined SAD on March 25, 2014, in the presence of then revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia and MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu. On January 10, 2015, he had fired at police head constable Gursewak Singh at the Cantt police station of Bathinda and was arrested on January 18. He was also involved in a gang war in Bathinda central jail on April 16, 2015, where some inmates had been injured in firing.
