Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for the 2015 attempted murder of an Army soldier and his brother following a dispute over a village drain.Sukhwinder Singh was convicted by additional sessions judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa in a fast-track court in Ludhiana. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000, with an additional seven-month sentence mandated should he fail to pay. The court, however, acquitted Sukhwinder Singh’s wife, Pardeep Kaur, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove her “common intention” or active participation in the shooting beyond a reasonable doubt.A dispute over a culvertThe incident dates back to June 20, 2015, in the village of Birmi. Court records suggest that the violence was fuelled by “previous enmity” regarding a small bridge, or culvert, which the local panchayat had built over a drain. The defendant had reportedly opposed the construction, which allowed his neighbour, Baljinder Singh, to cross the area on a motorcycle.The prosecution’s case rested on the testimony of Jasmail Singh, whose son Gurpreet Singh —an Army soldier stationed in Assam — was home on leave at the time of the attack. The court heard that on the day of the shooting, Baljinder Singh had called his nephews, Gurpreet and Dilpreet Singh, for help during an altercation with the defendant. When the brothers arrived to intervene, they found Sukhwinder Singh grappling with their uncle.The confrontation escalated when the group followed the defendant back to his home. Prosecution evidence established that Sukhwinder Singh emerged with a .32-bore licensed revolver and fired four shots: the first into the air as a warning, the second shot aimed at Dilpreet Singh, which missed his armpit narrowly, the third below Gurpreet Singh’s right armpit, causing serious internal injuries, and the fourth at Baljinder Singh, who survived by diving to the ground.Gurpreet was moved to Dayanand Medical College (DMC) in Ludhiana for emergency treatment. While Sukhwinder Singh pleaded his innocence and alleged false implication during the trial, judge Bajwa found the evidence of “intent and knowledge” sufficient for a conviction. The judge has noted that the act of firing a lethal weapon at the victims was clearly intended to cause death, even though Gurpreet survived the assault.
