Amritsar: Three masked gunmen kill petrol pump employee, injure two others

Three unidentified armed men, wearing masks, barged into a petrol pump in Kaler Mangat village situated near Majitha and shot dead a petrol pump employee while injuring two others on Sunday night after being denied fuel, police said.

The petrol pump is owned by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Jodh Singh Samra, who is considered a close associate of Bikram Singh Majithia.

The deceased has been identified as Gautam Kumar, a migrant from UP. He took a bullet to the chest, and the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The other injured, Amit and Arpan, were admitted to a hospital. Amit took a bullet in the face and is said to be serious. Prima facie, it looks like a robbery attempt, police added.

Amritsar (rural) senior superintendent of police (SSP) Maninder Singh said six teams had been formed to arrest the accused.

“An FIR has been lodged under the relevant sections and several teams have been formed to trace and arrest the accused,” the SSP said.

According to Tejinder Singh, the co-owner of the fuel station, the incident took place after the pump had shut down its operations for the night.

“The attackers parked their motorcycle on the road and started firing indiscriminately after they were denied petrol by the employees. The pump had been closed for the day and a bike stopped near the pump. Three men with covered faces shouted that it was Samra’s petrol pump and they wanted petrol for the bike,” Tejinder Singh who was going to the petrol pump with food for the three men at around 8.30 pm.

“After they were denied by the employees, the armed men started firing at them. The CCTV footage shows that the trio tried to bolt the room and hide there, but the assailant fired indiscriminately killing one of the employees and injuring two others,” he added.

On Monday, Bikram Majithia visited the spot and refuted police claims that it was a robbery attempt.

While addressing a press conference, the senior SAD leader said chief minister Bhagwant Mann was targeting opposition leaders instead of controlling the law and order situation.

“The latest attack on the petrol pump of SGPC member Jodh Singh Samra proves that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wants to eliminate opposition leaders. It was an act to target Samra,” the Akali Dal leader said.