Moga: The black Scorpio with tinted windows pulled up, the men inside opened fire, and five people sitting outside a shop in Angadpura fell. Two of them never got up.
Sahil Jindal, 40, and Gagan Jindal, 35, cousins, died of their injuries. Raghav and Somnath Jindal are being treated at a local hospital. The attack took place around 7 pm on Sunday.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, accompanied by Inspector General (Faridkot Range) Nilambari Jagdale Vijay, inspected the scene on Monday and met the family. "Sahil Jindal was sitting with four or five companions when some unidentified people came in a black Scorpio and opened fire," Yadav told reporters. "Five people sustained bullet injuries, of whom Sahil Jindal and Gagandeep Singh succumbed. Six empty cartridges of .30 bore and 9 mm were recovered from the spot."
The FIR at City South Moga police station, registered on the statement of the injured Somnath Jindal, invokes Sections 103 (murder) and 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act. Those taken into custody, according to the DGP, are Punit Gaba, Kiranpal Singh, Tejinder Singh, Baljit Kaur and Jeevan.
"We are conducting an investigation in a scientific and professional manner. CCTV footage and technical evidence are being analysed to identify the actual assailants and those who supported them. Exemplary action will be taken," Yadav said.
Moga Senior Superintendent of Police Sartaj Singh Chahal said a forensic team had collected evidence from the scene and footage from nearby cameras was being reviewed. Eyewitnesses told reporters that 15 to 20 rounds were fired; police have not confirmed the number.
Manish Jindal, brother of the deceased, said the family had no known enmity with anyone and alleged that the attackers arrived in a vehicle with tinted windows and fired without warning. The family has demanded an impartial probe.
Police sources, however, point to an old personal rivalry. Sahil Jindal had around 10 criminal cases registered against him, they said, and the family had suffered a loss in November 2023 when another cousin, Vikas Jindal, died under suspicious circumstances. Yadav said all angles were being explored.
The killings have spilled into politics in a state where law and order is already a live theme. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, speaking in Patiala, said those involved would get exemplary punishment. BJP state president Kewal Singh Dhillon said the incident was proof of the "complete failure" of the state government. "The situation in Punjab today is such that people have begun to fear even stepping out of their homes. Gangsters are emboldened and their morale is at an all-time high," he said.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said Punjab had a "non-functioning" chief minister and home minister, and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said bullets were being fired across the state every day while families were being shattered.