BATHINDA: An AAP candidate in Punjab's local body polls was found murdered at his home in a village in Bathinda on Monday morning. Harwinder Singh, alias Hinda, 42, had filed his papers for the zila parishad elections from Gill Kalan zone of Bathinda.Hinda is believed to have been killed between Sunday night and Monday morning at his home in Jethuke village. His blood-stained body was found by his wife and had injury marks on the back of head and right eye. Police officials believe he was attacked with sharp-edged weapons.His family members told the police that Hinda had come home on Sunday night after having dinner at a dhaba with three persons, who stayed for the night at their residence. His wife discovered his body in the morning, but the three persons, who had stayed overnight, were missing.The police and the victim's family are clueless about the motive. The cops are trying to establish the identity of the three men who had stayed at Hinda's residence.The AAP described the killing as a meticulously planned political murder and demanded cancellation of the local body elections in the state."It was a well-planned murder as he was the winning candidate. Earlier, the Congress workers did not allow many of our candidates to file nominations and as he had succeeded in filing papers, he was killed," AAP acting president Balbir Singh and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema alleged.AAP acting president Balbir Singh and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that vital evidence in Hinda’s murder case was being destroyed as digital video recording of the CCTV at the dhaba where the AAP activist had dinner with the three men was allegedly missing. “We want cancellation of the electoral process. The state government must first set right the law and order situation, only then should it conduct elections.”Accompanied by Bathinda Rural MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby, Harwinder had filed his nomination papers on September 7, the last day of filing nominations for the local polls on September 19.Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh denied the AAP claim that evidence was not being collected properly. “The CCTV footage is being obtained to ascertain the identity of the three persons who stayed with him for the night and left without informing anyone. A case under charges of murder has been registered at Rampura Sadar police station against unknown persons,” he added.His wife Kiranjit Kaur said Hinda had returned home around 10pm with unknown three persons. “He told me that along with the three persons accompanying him he would sleep on the ground floor. He told me and our 14-year-old son, Sharandeep to sleep on the first floor. When I went down early morning to wake him up and give him tea, I saw he was lying on the bed with blood oozing from backside and the three persons were missing.”

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