A five-year-old land dispute left four people dead at Mundi Karal village under Sekhwan police station limits in Batala on Tuesday night. Police identified the attacker as Manjot Singh, 35, whose parents died years ago, and who ironically lived and ate at the very household he targeted.
The violence erupted in the absence of Manjot’s uncle, Nishan Singh, with whom he had a longstanding property row and frequent financial dispute.
Accompanied by his friend Pargat Singh, an ex-serviceman, Manjot arrived at the house armed with a pistol. Following an argument, he opened fire on his aunt, Harjit Kaur, 45, hitting her in the chest and killing her instantly. He then turned the weapon on his 12-year-old cousin, Hari Amritpal Singh.
The accused and Pargat returned to Manjot’s house nearby when a brawl broke out between the two. Manjot shot his friend in the chest.
Pargat’s body was later recovered by police from bushes just outside the property.
Manjot went to his kitchen and shot himself in the head. Police found the body on the kitchen floor with the weapon still in his hand.
Batala City DSP Sukhinder Singh arrived at the scene soon after and forensic teams spent the night processing the multiple crime scenes, while the bodies were moved to the Civil Hospital, Batala, mortuary for post-mortem examinations.
According to police sources, Manjot’s brother lives abroad.
An FIR has been registered and additional police personnel remain deployed in the village to maintain order.
