AAP leader Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, 45, was shot dead by four armed assailants in Mamdot's main market in Ferozepur, Punjab.
His associate Harpreet Singh alias Happy was injured in the attack, while police have formed teams to track down the identified suspects.
Investigators are probing an old dispute and election-related political rivalry as possible motives behind the targeted killing.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, 45, was shot dead late Saturday night by four armed men in the main bazaar of Mamdot town in Punjab's Ferozepur district. His associate, Harpreet Singh, alias Happy, was injured in the same attack.
According to Police, the assailants, travelling in a car, chased down the motorcycle carrying Gopi and Harpreet before opening fire, killing Gopi and wounding Harpreet. The shooting took place in the town's crowded main market area, according to local reports.
Who was Gopi?
Gopi was an AAP leader from the Mamdot area of Ferozepur district, associated with the party's local political activities and known in the area for his involvement in local politics.
Police have flagged a political rivalry as a key line of inquiry. According to a NewsX report, Ferozepur SSP Bhupinder Singh Sidhu said the two parties involved in the incident had an old dispute, and an election-related dispute has emerged as an important angle in the investigation, adding that the attackers have been identified and teams have been formed to track them down. Investigators are also examining whether Gopi's political activities and an earlier election-related dispute were connected to the attack.
Part of a wider pattern
This is the second AAP leader killed in Punjab in six months. Earlier this year, AAP leader Satvinder Pal Singh, also known as Lucky Oberoi, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in Jalandhar. In that February incident, the attack occurred as Oberoi was leaving the gurdwara after offering prayers, when two scooter-borne individuals approached and fired multiple shots at him.
Gopi's killing has added to ongoing concerns over targeted violence and law-and-order issues in Punjab, with the state's political leadership facing renewed scrutiny.
Police say the investigation is ongoing, with efforts focused on establishing the exact sequence of events, identifying and apprehending the four attackers, and confirming whether the old political/election dispute was the decisive motive.
