A disturbing CCTV clip has surfaced showing the cold-blooded killing of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and village sarpanch Jarmal Singh at a wedding venue in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district. The footage shows two armed men calmly entering the venue, walking up to Singh, drawing a pistol from the waist and firing a single shot at his head at point-blank range.
Singh collapses on the spot, while the attackers escape within moments as stunned wedding guests look on helplessly.
The incident occurred at the Marigold Marriage Palace in Valtoha village between 2.30 pm and 3 pm on Sunday. Jarmal Singh was attending a wedding ceremony and was seated in the courtyard when the attack took place, shortly after the bride and groom had departed. The assailants made no attempt to hide their faces, despite the presence of several guests at the venue, as seen in the video.
Soon after the shooting, police teams reached the spot and launched an investigation. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-City) Jagjit Singh Walia told HT, “We have initiated a detailed probe into the incident with the help of our human intelligence and technical surveillance. Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the attackers. Soon we will trace the attackers”.
What did the local MLA witness?
Sarwan Singh Dhun, the MLA from Punjab’s Khemkaran constituency where Valtoha village is located, said he was present at the function when the incident occurred.
“We were together at the function and had tea. After that I went inside the hall to have lunch. Jarmal Singh remained sitting in the courtyard along with other guests. Suddenly, I heard about the firing outside the hall. When I rushed outside, I saw that Jarmal Singh had been injured critically in the firing and he was being taken to the hospital,” he was quoted as saying by HT.
Was Jarmal Singh facing threats?
The MLA revealed that the deceased had received extortion calls prior to the murder.
“He (deceased) was under threat because he got calls for extortion. In this regard, he also got an FIR registered in the Valtoha police station some time ago. And the police took action against some persons acting on his complaint,” he said, adding that further details were not immediately available.
“His death is a great loss to me as he was sarpanch of a big village. Rest, the police are investigating the incident,” the MLA said.
Expressing anger over the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said the ‘law and order’ situation in Punjab has ‘deteriorated’. “In a marriage palace, miscreants openly shot dead a person, showing that criminals have no fear of the law in Punjab… The lives of ordinary people are not safe in Punjab under the AAP’s rule… Cases are being registered against journalists in Punjab for questioning the AAP government,” he added.
The killing comes weeks after kabaddi player-turned-promoter Kanwar Digvijay Singh, also known as Rana Balachauria, was shot dead during a tournament in Mohali on December 15. He was killed in a public setting by three attackers, barely 300 meters from the Sohana police station.
Are the two cases connected?
Police officials said that, for now, there is no established link between the murder of Jarmal Singh and the killing of Rana Balachauria, and investigations into both cases are ongoing.
