Murder of Sarpanch in Moga Highlights Government's Broken Promises: Akali Dal
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Key Takeaways
Chandigarh, March 6 (NationPress) As the Budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha progresses, the government continues to tout its commitment to an “upright” law and order situation alongside various policing initiatives. However, the shocking daylight murder of a village sarpanch in Moga district on Friday starkly contradicts these claims.
Harvinder Singh Happy, the sarpanch of Patto village, was brutally shot in the Baghapurana area of Moga.
Initial reports indicate that armed attackers arrived in a vehicle, encircled the sarpanch, and unleashed a hail of bullets. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
In response to this tragic event, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia asserted that the incident reveals a significant disconnect between the government’s assurances and the actual situation on the ground.
According to him, there had been prior intelligence reports indicating threats to the sarpanch, yet no preventive measures were implemented.
Majithia drew parallels between this incident and the alleged intelligence shortcomings surrounding the 2022 assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, claiming that the state machinery has failed to safeguard elected officials.
He emphasized the irony of the government celebrating its law and order achievements during the Budget session while a sarpanch was murdered in broad daylight in Moga.
Majithia further alleged that the name of AAP MLA Amritpal Singh Sukhanand had emerged in connection with the murder and insisted that an independent agency should carry out the investigation.
The Akali leader noted that a similar incident involving the murder of another sarpanch occurred in Tarn Taran, alarmingly close to the residences of high-ranking officials including the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police.
Majithia claimed that central agencies had provided intelligence about threats to the Moga sarpanch, but it was reportedly disregarded by state police, echoing what he termed an intelligence failure in the killing of Sidhu Moosewala.