Patiala: Unidentified assailants shot dead Swaran Singh Saini, a former superintending engineer of the public works department and father-in-law of Makfed MD and senior IAS officer Varun Roojam. The killing took place at Uksi Sainyyan village on the Rajpura-Sirhind stretch of NH 44 at around 11.30am on Sunday.Swaran, 71, was near his ancestral Uksi Sainyyan village, 5 km from Rajpura. “He was shot in the head and two more bullets were fired at his chest on close range. A .32 bore pistol was used in the crime, which took place on outskirts of the village,” police said.Police said preliminary investigations revealed that someone stopped Swaran Singh on the national highway and opened fire. His vehicle, which had automatic transmission, veered towards the roadside ditch and idled there till it was discovered by a farm worker at around 1.30pm.Inspector general of police, Patiala Range A S Rai said Saini, a resident of Sector 35, Chandigarh, was a regular visitor to the local shrine in his village and used to visit the village on the 10th day of the traditional month.On Sunday, his son, Jaspreet Singh, 35, was coming in a separate vehicle. His son left for Chandigarh and Saini stayed back to settle some affairs in the village. Rai said the murder appears to have been motivated by personal animosity. Further investigations are on, he said.

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