TARN TARAN: Police have detained several suspects in connection with the murder of AAP sarpanch Harbinder Singh at a wedding in Tarn Taran on Wednesday even as fugitive gangster Lakhbir Landa Harikae — mastermind of an RPG attack on a police station in Dec 2022 — claimed responsibility for the killing on social media.Harbinder, 45, village head of Thathian Mahanta, was shot dead when he was dancing at the wedding in nearby Jhamka village. A cousin who tried to chase the gunmen was shot and injured.

Senior SP Surendra Lamba on Thursday said that police have rounded up eight to 10 ‘criminal suspects’ and associates of the main accused. The SSP refused to name the prime suspect, saying it could affect the investigation.Gangster Landa, who is suspected to be hiding in Canada, claimed in a social media post that he had Harbinder killed. “We murdered the sarpanch because he caused harm to our younger brother Noni, in which he was a witness. This was just a trailer. Whatever happens to you next, seven generations of your family won’t dare to even take the name of weapons. Police are carrying out illegal encounters — either stop them, or the revenge for all our brothers will be taken in a single day,” the social media post said.SSP Lamba said police were examining the gangster’s claim. “We are working on multiple angles,” he said. Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia expressed his condolences to the family of the sarpanch. In a social media post, he said, “This murder is the peak of Punjab’s deteriorating law-and-order. Bomb blasts in gurdwaras, temples, SSP offices, police posts, and murders in cities like Mohali are proof of the failure of Punjab Police and Punjab govt,” he said.