Gurdaspur, February 26 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia and Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira visited the residence of Ranjit Singh, who was killed in an encounter by the police, on Thursday, and said their party stands firmly with his family.
Ranjit, a resident of Adhian village here, was one of the three accused in the murder of two police officers in Gurdaspur. He was killed in an exchange of fire with the police on Wednesday.
Ranjit's mother raised questions about the police encounter, saying that her son was picked up by the police on Tuesday for questioning, but later she came to know that he was killed.
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar were found dead on Sunday with gunshot wounds inside a checkpost in Adhian village, about two km from the International Border with Pakistan.
The police later identified Ranjit Singh (19), Inderjit Singh (21), and Dilawar Singh (19) for their alleged involvement in the killing of the two police personnel, allegedly at the behest of their Pakistan-based handlers backed by the spy agency ISI. While Dilawar has been arrested, Inderjit is absconding.
SAD leader Majithia said that Ranjit was the only child of his parents. His mother Sukhwinder Kaur and family members alleged that their son was killed in a "fake encounter" and demanded justice along with an independent investigation into the incident, said the Akali leader.
After meeting the family, Majithia said that SAD stands firmly with them and would fight for justice.
He alleged that young Sikh men were being targeted under what he described as a "Delhi-run government" in Punjab. He claimed that youths from border areas were increasingly becoming "victims" of police action.
He further alleged that innocent youths were being picked up and eliminated in the name of security operations. Demanding accountability, Majithia called for the registration of a murder case against the chief minister and the director general of police.
He also demanded a CBI inquiry into all encounter killings that have taken place during the tenure of the AAP government. He alleged that the sequence described by the police appears similar to an encounter reported a few months ago in Mohali. It was then claimed that a police vehicle had overturned in foggy conditions, following which the accused allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire at the police party, leading to retaliatory firing.
He questioned the repetition of such circumstances, saying similar versions emerging in multiple encounter cases have raised doubts and strengthened demands for an independent probe into the incident.
Congress MLA Khaira also visited Ranjit's residence to express solidarity with his family.
"Ranjit Singh was taken from home by the police at 4 pm on Tuesday in the presence of his family and villagers. If he were guilty, would he be waiting at home for the police to arrest him? Ranjit had no criminal past and was a disciplined young boy," said Khaira.
