AAP leader shot dead in Jalandhar; Oppn slams Mann-led govt

Punjab Aam Aadmi Party leader Lucky Oberoi was shot dead on Friday outside a gurdwara in Jalandhar’s Model Town by unidentified assailants, police said.

The incident took place in the morning, a senior police official from Jalandhar said over the phone, adding that he was rushed to a hospital in an unconscious state and succumbed to the bullet injuries.

Oberoi, 38, a Jalandhar-based AAP leader, had arrived at the gurdwara in his car. He was preparing to leave in his Mahindra Thar Roxx after paying obeisance. The assailants, who were on a two-wheeler, opened 8-10 shots at him, police said.

He was rushed to a hospital in Jalandhar, but succumbed to injuries, ACP Jalandhar, Parminder Singh said.

Police said the attackers fired several bullets at the vehicle and fled.

After the incident, a police force reached the spot.

The assailants may have carried out a recce of Oberoi’s movements, police sources said.

In the firing incident, the window panes of Oberoi’s Thar vehicle and of another vehicle parked in the area were shattered.

Further investigations are underway, police said, adding that CCTV footage is being scanned to trace the assailants.

A doctor at a private hospital where Oberoi was admitted, told reporters that he was brought in around 8:10 am.

“He was unconscious, and his blood pressure was unrecordable. Eight to nine rounds were fired at him, and one of the bullets pierced through his chest,” the doctor said.

Despite best efforts, Oberoi could not be saved, the doctor added.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties hit out at the Bhagwant Mann-led dispensation over the incident, alleging the collapse of law and order in the state under AAP rule.

Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa in a post on X said, “The shocking daylight murder of @AAPPunjab leader Lucky Oberoi outside a gurdwara in Jalandhar, exposes the grim reality: if even ruling party leaders aren’t safe, what hope remains for ordinary citizens?”