Mohali youth shot dead in US cremated

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 8

On Monday, while sisters were visiting their brothers to tie rakhi, Harpinder Kaur was carrying the body of her younger brother Simranjit Singh from the USA to Mohali.

Today, a pall of gloom descended on the Sector 70 residence of 20-year-old Simranjit Singh when his body reached here around 8.30 am. Simranjit was shot dead at Sacramento in California, USA.

A large number of people turned up at the cremation ground and bade a tearful adieu to the youth, who had gone to the USA to realise his dreams three years ago.

The inconsolable family was not in a position to talk. “Now, everything has been lost for all of us,” said inconsolable parents and sisters of Simranjit Singh.

Despite heavy rain, hundreds of people, including Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu and senior officials of the Punjab School Education Board, reached the cremation ground. The last rites of the youth were performed by his three brothers-in-law-Hartejpreet Singh, Amandeep Singh and Gurtejpreet Singh.

Simranjit Singh was the only brother of his three sisters. At Sacramento, he was living with Harpinder Kaur and her husband.

The victim’s father, Ranjit Singh Bhangu, who had retired from the Punjab School Education Board, along with his wife, was away in New Zealand to meet his daughter when the incident occurred on July 25 night at a gas station. He was shot dead by some persons in an inebriated condition following a tiff with his colleague. Simranjit Singh, who was inside the gas station at the time of the tiff, was unaware about it and had come out of the gas station to do some work when the miscreants shot him dead. Simranjit received bullets in his chest and died on the spot.