Gunmen chase bike, kill AAP man in Punjab; police suspect poll rivalry

By: Dinesh SharmaFEROZEPUR: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member, Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, was shot dead and his friend Harpreet Singh alias Happy was injured by armed assailants in a crowded Mamdot village market in Ferozepur around 8pm on Saturday, police said.The assailants chased the victims’ motorcycle in a car, opened fire and shot at a following car carrying nagar panchayat president Rajesh Kumar Maini, who narrowly escaped, according to police.Gurpreet’s friends following in the car rushed both victims to the hospital, where Gurpreet was declared brought dead, while Harpreet was transferred to Ludhiana in stable condition.Gurpreet, who lost his wife one-and-a-half years ago, is survived by two children. Though holding no official AAP title, he was active in nagar panchayat elections and his sister-in-law serves as ward no. 5 councilor.Ferozepur SSP Bhupinder Singh said preliminary findings point to election-related rivalry.