Phagwara trader cremated after woman accused held

Three days after a trader was shot dead outside his home in New Mansa Devi Nagar here, his family members performed last rites on Thursday.

This took place after the police arrested an accused woman, whose arrest they had been pressing for.

The family members of the trader, Pankaj Duggal (40), had earlier refused permission for his autopsy as well as his cremation before Surinder Kaur, the mother of another accused, was included in the murder case.

Supported by the other local residents, the trader's family members had blocked traffic on the national highway at Sugar Mill crossing and staged a dharna last evening to demand her inclusion.

They accused her of hatching a conspiracy regarding the murder. Kaur is the mother of Harmanpreet Singh, also an accused in the case.

The trader's family members ended their protest on Wednesday after Phagwara Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Dhillon assured them that Kaur would also be booked.

A three-member board of doctors of a local civil hospital on Thursday conducted the trader's post-mortem. After the autopsy, the body was handed over to the family, who carried out the last rites on Thursday afternoon.

Both Harmanpreet Singh and Surinder Kaur are neighbours of the deceased trader and both families have some dispute, police said.

Satnampura Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Surjit Singh Padda said that Kaur has been named in the case and arrested.

Harmanpreet Singh and his friend Naresh Handa were earlier arrested under sections 302 (murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act, Padda said.

The SHO said that a large number of arms and ammunition were recovered from the car of Naresh Handa, the alleged kingpin of the case. Both are on two-day police remand, he added.

Neeraj Duggal, the brother of the deceased trader, had lodged a separate complaint against Kaur, alleging she had done recce before her son Harmanpreet and Handa had shot dead his brother.

Pankaj Duggal traded in confectionery goods in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and was on a visit to meet his family here on September 18 evening but was shot dead later on the same night. He is survived by his wife and three sons.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)