Villager, son beaten to death in fight over dog in Punjab’s Bathinda district

A father and son were beaten to death over an ongoing dispute over the ownership of a dog at Jeewan Singh Wala village in Bathinda late on Monday night.

The victims were identified as Mandar Singh, 55, and his son, Amrik Singh, 32.

They were killed at their house by a group of people from the village, which is located on the Bathinda-Talwandi Sabo road.

Mandar’s wife Darshan Kaur was also attacked, but she survived and was rushed to Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital.

Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said two accused, Ekamjot Singh and Mandeep Singh, were rounded up around midnight.

She said a first information report (FIR) was registered on Darshan Kaur’s statement. “The accused attacked the victims with lathis and both succumbed to head injuries. Investigation is on,” she said.

Baljit Singh, a relative of the victims, said Amrik had recently bought a dog but another family in the village objected, claiming that it had already paid for the pet.

As tension escalated, villagers gathered to resolve the dispute between the two families.

A villager said that the matter was not settled after which Mandar and Amrik were attacked.

“According to preliminary investigation, the accused reached Amrik’s house on Monday night and called him outside on the pretext of a conversation to settle the dispute only to attack him. On hearing his cries, his father rushed out to save him but was attacked, too,” a police official said.