Mohali : Kharar Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu was booked, among others, after a clash between two groups left a 52-year-old dead and five others, including a woman, injured at Bariali village of Mohali district on Saturday night. On the complaint of the deceased's son, cops booked around half-a-dozen people, including the MLA and his brother Amarjit Singh Jiti, besides Bariyali sarpanch Kulwant Singh and his brother Dilwar Singh, who is admitted in a hospital after getting injured. While the Congress MLA has been booked under section 120B (criminal conspiracy), others have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of IPC and sections 25/27-54-59 of Arms Act. After the bloody feud, tension has gripped Bariyali. Fearing retaliation from warring sides, cops have turned the village into a fortress. Both sides have accused each other of launching the first strike. Police said the deceased, Rattan Singh, was a resident of the same village and the incident occurred after his sons Harpreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh parked their vehicle at the commonland. The sarpanch's son, Jatinder Singh, objected to this and entered into an argument. Soon, a scuffle broke out and ended in a bloody clash as family members of both the parties joined them. In a fit of anger, both the parties took out their weapons and reportedly fired shots, leaving one dead and five injured. Rattan died on the spot after a bullet pierced his skull. Both the parties are related and have property dispute cases pending in court. A Congress-backed sarpanch, Kulwant is the MLA's partner in his liquor business. The deceased's son had contested sarpanch elections on an Akali Dal ticket and lost. As the MLA and his brother's name have figured in the case, cops too are treading cautiously. A special investigation team has also been formed. Primary investigation has revealed that Kulwant and Rattan were cousins and were involved in an old land dispute, with the matter in court. An injured Dilwar Singh, an accused, told cops that around 9.15pm on Saturday, his nephew Jatinder Singh had a minor scuffle with Gurpreet, which turned into a major clash, said Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. A case has been registered at Balongi police station. Claiming that he was innocent, Sidhu said, ''I was in Delhi for an AICC session and returned at 11pm when I came to know about the violence. The case against me and my brother is the result of political vendetta.'' He further claimed that his brother Amarjit Singh and Kulwant Singh were attending a marriage function at Zirakpur when members of the other group attacked the latter's house.
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