AAP leader Gurpreet Gopi shot dead in Punjab’s Ferozepur

An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was shot dead by unidentified assailants in a firing incident in Punjab’s Ferozepur district late Saturday evening. The AAP leader, identified as Gurpreet Singh Gopi, was killed in the attack, while another party worker, Harpreet Singh, was critically injured in the incident in the Mamdot area of Ferozepur.

Gopi and Singh were travelling on a motorcycle on Mamdot Road when unidentified assailants travelling in a car allegedly opened fire at them. Vicky Maini, the newly elected president of the Mamdot Nagar Panchayat, along with two others, was travelling in a separate car and was present at the spot.

Ferozepur SSP Bhupinder Singh Sidhu said the incident was linked to an old election-related rivalry. According to the police official, Gopi and Harpreet sustained bullet injuries and were rushed to a hospital. Gopi died on the way, while Harpreet is undergoing treatment at District Hospital, Ferozepur.

“Harpreet has given his statement and, based on it, an FIR has been registered under murder and provisions of the Arms Act,” Sidhu said. Police have identified the alleged assailant, who is believed to have a criminal background.

However, his identity is yet to be disclosed. The SSP said police teams were working to arrest him. The incident is believed to have its roots in a rivalry following the urban local body elections held in Punjab earlier this year.

Sources said Maini and Gopi knew each other, with Maini having been elected president of the Mamdot Nagar Panchayat in the polls.