Gurwinder was injured in firing from police on Monday. (Screen grab)
Two days after a police constable died and two other cops were injured in an eight-hour standoff between a farmer and Moga Police at Khosa Pando village Monday, the accused farmer succumbed to bullet injuries sustained during in the cross-fire.
Gurwinder, who was injured in firing from police side, died Thursday due to bullet injuries at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot.
A team from Moga Sadar police station had gone to the residence of Gurwinder Singh (35) Monday late after his uncle, Baldev Singh, had complained that his nephew had set his straw storeroom on fire. Gurwinder allegedly opened fire at the police party with his 12 bore gun and constable Jagmohan Singh died on the spot. Two other cops are admitted at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) Ludhiana with bullet injuries. The standoff continued till 4 am Tuesday and Gurwinder had managed to flee in his vehicle with his mother seated in the front seat, even as police kept surrounding his residence. He was traced by police after he got himself admitted to a hospital.
Dr Rajiv Joshi, medical superintendent, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot said that Gurwinder Singh had six bullet injuries and he died of shock septicemia. “He had two bullets in his abdominal area and four other bullet injuries had entry and exit points in different body parts. He also underwent surgery for intestinal rupture but we hadn’t taken out two bullets in his abdomen as they were too deep. He died of shock septicemia. More details will be clear after autopsy.”
Moga SSP Harmanbir Singh Gill, meanwhile, said that police had fired at Gurwinder only in ‘self defense’ and to ‘pick up constable Jagmohan Singh after he was seriously injured and a bullet had hit his chest in firing by Gurwinder’.
“The accused was not even letting us pick the seriously injured constable and we had no option but to open fire. He kept firing at police even when we were trying to pick injured constable Jagmohan Singh. Our priority was to pick him up and rush him to hospital as he might have been saved. But he had already died when we were finally able to pick him up. But Gurwinder got injured in police firing only after he did not let us pick up our injured constable,” said the SSP.
Two other cops — Inspector Tarlochan Singh and head constable Vedam Singh — who also received bullet injuries, are admitted at DMCH, Ludhiana.
Two FIRs were registered against Gurwinder Singh at Moga Sadar police station– one under the Sections 302, 307, 353, 186 of IPC and other sections of Arms Act– for alleged killing of constable and firing on police. The second FIR was registered under the Sections 435 of IPC and 25/27 of Arms Act on complaint of his uncle for allegedly setting his storeroom on fire.
Gurwinder was unmarried. The SSP said that it remains to be seen if anyone from the family will claim the body after autopsy or if police will perform last rites.