Incident linked to old rivalry, says SSP
17 October, 2026 – Batala :The murder of Bikramjit Singh, 40, and the injury sustained to two of his colleagues had the Batala police going on an overdrive to inform the public that today’s incident had nothing to do with drugs.
The incident comes days after the fatal attack on anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa.
Bikramjit and his friends Nishan Singh and Gurmukh Singhwere attacked with sharp weapons last night at Marri Pannawan village falling under the jurisdiction of the Batala police. They were allegedly protesting against the sale of drugs when they were ambushed by 10 youths.
SSP Mehtab Singh released a video claiming that the incident occurred due to a rivalry over the deceased’s lost phone. Villagers, however, contended that Bikramjit was a whistle-blower. Marri Pannawan village’s sarpanch said, “Three boys were regularly selling heroin in the village. Bikramjit and his friends confronted them following which a quarrel ensued. His friends have been admitted to the Bham Community Health Centre.”
“Bikramjit’s murder proves that Punjab requires deep systemic reforms to break the nexus between drug peddlers, administrative loopholes and local crime syndicates,” said an officer.
Gurmukh said, “A group of youngsters used to harass women and sell narcotics. Tensions flared when we tried to stop these people from selling drugs.” The police have registered a murder case against unidentified persons at the Sri-Hargobindpur police station. The SSP said, “Investigations are underway. We are following some clues and hope to arrest the accused soon.”
The Tribune