Jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s mother Harjit Kaur, 52, and cousin Karanvir Singh, 29, were shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on Qadian Road in Batala town of Gurdaspur district on Thursday night, police said.
A search is on for the unidentified assailants, who opened fire on the two from close range when they were in an SUV parked outside their rented house in the Civil Lines area at 9.07pm before fleeing, the police said.
Bhagwanpuria’s rival Davinder Bambiha gang claimed responsibility for the attack via a social media post, stating that Karanvir was the intended target. In an unverified social media post shortly after the attack, a user identifying himself as Dony Bal Manga claimed responsibility, saying he along with Prabh Dasuwal and Kaushal Chaudhary (both from Haryana) had avenged the killing of a member of their gang, Gora Bariar.
The post alleged that Harjit Kaur and Karanvir had been managing the criminal operations of Bhagwanpuria.