Harjinder Singh Bahman, a councillor of the Shiromani Akali Dal from Jandiala Guru in Punjab’s Amritsar district, was shot dead by bike-borne assailants on Sunday. The incident took place near a Gurdwara in the Chheharta area of Amritsar.

According to the police, the councillor had come to Chheharta to attend a function. “Harjinder was on his way when at least three men on a bike approached him and opened fire. The victim died of his injuries in the hospital,” said Harpal Singh Randhawa, additional deputy commissioner of police, Amritsar.

The councillor’s family said the attackers were not unknown to them. They claimed, “the attackers were the same individuals who previously issued him threats and opened fire at his residence.”

Randhawa confirmed the family's claims: “According to his brother and brother-in-law, the attackers were the same individuals who had previously opened fire at his residence and issued threats to him.”

Police said an investigation has been initiated.

Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary, Bikram Singh Majithia, shared CCTV footage from the previous attack on Harjinder Singh’s residence.

The footage shows two men approaching a house in a narrow lane around 1am. One man appears to hold a phone while the other opens fire. One attacker is seen repeatedly pulling the trigger, but no bullets are fired. The second attacker loads the weapon and fires two shots before they walk away.

Majithia questioned the silence of the state government and the police.

“The law and order situation in Punjab has deteriorated from bad to worse. A few days ago, shots were fired at the house of Councilor Harjinder Singh. The councillor was constantly receiving threats — a complaint of which was filed with the police by the councillor. But no action was taken and today the murder took place. Bhagwant Mann ji, wake up from your sleep and restore the law and order situation. Why was no action taken even after receiving the complaint from DGP Sahib? You are all responsible for the death of the councillor today,” Majithia said.

Ravneet Singh Bittu, Union minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, also issued a statement on social media: “The murder of Councillor Harjinder Singh in Jandiala Guru exposes the @BhagwantMann government's utter failure to maintain law and order in Punjab. As a councillor, Singh's role was to serve the public, but the state's inability to protect him is a grave indictment. He was being threatened from the last few days but state machinery acted as a moot spectator. Those who took no action to protect him should be equally punished.”