BATALA: The killing of 40-year-old Bikramjit Singh in Maari Panwan village in Batala police district has triggered allegations that he was attacked for opposing drug peddling, with residents drawing parallels with the killing of anti-drug activist Parwinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. Police, however, have denied any drug-related motive, saying the murder followed a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone.Bikramjit died after he and two others, Nishan Singh and Gurmukh Singh, were allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons on Thursday in the Sri Hargobindpur Sahib area. The two injured men are undergoing treatment.Local resident Sukhwant Singh alleged that the confrontation began when Bikramjit and his companions objected to some people allegedly selling drugs in the village. A verbal altercation escalated into violence, and the three were attacked with sharp-edged weapons, he claimed.Sukhwant also alleged that about a fortnight ago, his relative Jarnail Singh was severely beaten after objecting to drug peddlers. He claimed that fear of retaliation had discouraged people from approaching the police.Gurdeep Singh, another local resident and a relative of Bikramjit, also rejected the police version that the murder stemmed from a mobile phone dispute. While acknowledging that a mobile phone theft had occurred, he alleged that Bikramjit was attacked after confronting outsiders over drug sales.According to Gurdeep, Bikramjit and his companions had gone to a house to catch a snake when they entered another street and encountered some people allegedly under the influence of drugs. The confrontation began when they questioned the group about drug-related activities, he claimed.Residents said the incident had created an atmosphere of fear, with some reluctant to lodge complaints against alleged drug peddlers. Referring to the alleged assault on Jarnail Singh, another villager claimed that his family, too, had refrained from approaching the police after he was beaten.Batala Senior Superintendent of Police Mehtab Singh, however, denied any drug-related angle, saying the murder followed a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone. Two other people were also injured, he said, adding that an FIR had been registered and police were investigating the case to identify and arrest the accused.The conflicting accounts have left villagers questioning the circumstances surrounding Bikramjit’s death, while police maintain that the motive was linked to a mobile phone dispute.
