Politics

Three days after 34-year-old Davinderpal Singh Natt, an advocate by profession and son of late Congress leader Sukhraj Singh Natt, allegedly shot himself dead, accusing a Chandigarh-based builder and his sons of not returning the money, amounting to crores, invested by him and his friends, the family has not yet given consent for the post-mortem, and the body is still lying at the local civil hospital. Advocate Gurwinder Singh Mann, president, District Bar Association, Bathinda, said, “The deceased was a member of the association, and a legal team will be formed to pursue the case, and the members of the Bar will not represent the accused. We will participate in the Maur gathering on Thursday.” Notably, the police had booked the accused on Monday and said on Tuesday that a lookout circular (LOC) had been issued to prevent them from fleeing abroad. Bathinda SP (City) Narinder Singh said police teams had been dispatched to multiple locations, but the accused were evading arrest.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday took strict action against alleged negligence in tackling the drug menace in Bathinda district, ordering the transfer of the entire staff of the Kot Shamir police post following complaint from a village sarpanch during a party workers’ meeting here. Acting on the Chief Minister’s directions, Harjeet Singh, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Bathinda Range, transferred 11 police personnel, including the post in-charge, to Mansa district. The transferred staff comprised three Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs), four senior constables, one constable and three home guards. The action followed a complaint raised by Lakha Singh, sarpanch of Gulabgarh village, who highlighted the growing drug problem in his village during the meeting held in an auditorium here. According to sources, the sarpanch publicly informed the CM about some alleged drug-related deaths and inaction by local police.