CHANDIGARH: A Jalandhar-based RTI activist, Simranjeet Singh, who had recently moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the controversial anti-sacrilege law, was shot dead by two bike-borne youngsters outside Lovely Professional University at Chaheru village in Phagwara.
Jalandhar Police has provided him with two gunmen. However, he was reportedly moving without security when he was fired upon from close range and died on the spot.
The exact motive behind the killing remains unclear.
Notably, this was not the first attempt on his life.
He was attacked a year back in June outside a gym in Model Town by armed assailants, but he had managed to escape. Foreign-based gangster Jograj Singh, alias Joga Pholriwal, claimed responsibility for the shooting.
He is known for filing RTI applications and public interest litigations in the Punjab and Haryana high court on high-stakes and controversial issues.
On April 22, he filed a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of Punjab’s stringent anti-sacrilege law—the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.
He is learnt to have also provided the ED with certain documents against Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora, who is currently lodged in jail at Gurugram.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Jalandhar Range, Naveen Singla, said that after receiving information, a team from Satnampura Police Station in Phagwara reached the spot and added that a .32 bore pistol from the crime scene and a .12 bore rifle were recovered from a Fortuner parked near the site.
Singla further said that multiple teams, including Counter-Intelligence units, have been deployed to nab the alleged accused. "The CCTV footage from the surrounding area is also being examined to gather clues and reconstruct the sequence of events," he said.
A case has been registered, and police are probing all possible angles to ascertain the motive and circumstances surrounding the murder.
The police also recovered two mobile phones belonging to the victim close by.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Kapurthala Gaurav Toora said that preliminary investigations indicate the victim was shot at point-blank range, with two bullets piercing his head.
"The police are gathering technical and digital evidence from the crime scene. We are also trying to ascertain who Simranjit had travelled from Jalandhar to meet at Chaheru village," he said.
Reacting to Singh's murder, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring launched a scathing attack on the AAP-led Punjab government and questioned their claims of improving law and order.
He wrote on X, "The Chief Minister promised a safer Punjab. Yet, the killing of an RTI activist has once again raised serious questions about public safety and the government's ability to curb shootings, gang violence and targeted attacks.’’
Leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also condemned the killing, calling it a brutal reminder of institutional failure under the AAP-led government.
"From gangsters to shooters, criminals seem to be operating without fear while the government remains busy with publicity and headlines. Punjab deserves justice, security, and accountability,” he said.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal called it a direct attack on democracy and transparency.
"Given the gravity of the matter, the incident demands a thorough investigation by an independent agency. Anti-social elements are having a field day. Law and order have completely collapsed, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is directly responsible for this ‘jungle raj’,” Badal said.
