CHANDIGARH: A 32-year-old shopkeeper, the son of a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader and the grandson of late Dina Nath, a senior RSS functionary and social worker, was shot dead in Ferozepur, Punjab, by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on Saturday evening. The Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the AAP-led Punjab government over the “deteriorating’’ law and order situation in the state.
The incident occurred around 7 pm when Naveen Arora, son of senior RSS leader Baldev Raj Arora, who ran a dupatta shop in the main bazaar of Ferozepur, was walking to his residence near Dr Sadhu Chand Chowk.
The assailants fired at him near Budhwara Wala Mohalla. He died on the spot. Family members and traders gathered at the scene and expressed anger over the shooting.
The two unidentified youths on a motorcycle opened fire at Naveen from point-blank range before fleeing. He was later rushed to a private hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
His father, Baldev Raj Arora, said, “Naveen is my son and we were all sitting and talking. He goes out and comes back to be with his children every day. Just five minutes after he left, a couple of boys came and informed us that someone shot my son.’’
Sources said police are scanning CCTV footage from the locality, which shows two men running after the firing and escaping. The visuals are being used to identify the attackers.
“Naveen was on his way home when two unidentified individuals shot him. Our team is investigating and we are also scanning CCTV footage,” said Senior Superintendent of Police, Ferozepur, Bhupinder Singh Sidhu.
Ranbir Singh Bhullar, MLA for Ferozepur (Urban), also visited the family and assured strict action against the accused.
Attacking the AAP-led state government on law and order, BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar said that the shooting and murder of Naveen Arora, the young son of RSS leader Baldev Raj Arora in Ferozepur, had once again exposed the collapse of law and order under the AAP government.
He said gangsters were “running a parallel government in the state”, while Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had failed to fulfil his responsibilities and had “left Punjab abandoned”.
Expressing grief over the death of the RSS leader’s son, Jakhar added that people in Punjab were being forced to live in an atmosphere of fear, while the Aam Aadmi Party government had “completely failed” to provide law and order and security to citizens.
Jakhar said people were receiving threatening and extortion calls every day, and some serious incident was occurring in one part of the state or another. He added that anti-social elements “no longer fear the government because those running the government lack even the basic understanding of governance”.
Ashwani Sharma, working president of the Punjab BJP unit, said this was “neither the first nor an isolated incident”. He said the continuous murders and crimes targeting businessmen, athletes, youth, and common people raised serious questions about the “incompetent working style’’ of the Punjab government.
Sharma alleged that the state government had “proven to be a complete failure’’ in handling law and order, and asserted that the BJP would not remain silent on the safety of innocent people. He said the incident clearly showed how the morale of criminals had risen under the current government’s rule. Expressing deep concern, he stated that people in Punjab no longer felt safe anywhere.
He further said, “Instead of ensuring public safety, the Punjab Police has been deployed to serve Arvind Kejriwal and his team, who have come from Delhi, which is against public interest.” Sharma said the BJP would continue its fight against the rising wave of crime and would keep demanding strict measures to restore peace and security in the state.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu said the killing had “shaken the entire state’’ and added that the incident at the home of “senior RSS volunteer and social worker Baldev Raj Arora showed that criminals had become fearlessly emboldened’’.
He said people in Punjab “feel increasingly unsafe’’ and that the BJP would “take a serious course’’ as the state government was “failing to control crime”.