Simranjit Singh, a Jalandhar-based lawyer and right to information (RTI) activist who recently moved the high court against Punjab’s controversial anti-sacrilege law, was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Chaheru village on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana National Highway on Saturday.Police at the crime site near Chaheru village on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana National Highway on Saturday. (HT Photo)The 43-year-old lawyer was found murdered in a secluded plot behind the Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus. Senior police officials and forensic experts rushed to the spot and initiated an investigation.Jalandhar range deputy inspector general (DIG) Naveen Singla said that the police were alerted to a body with gunshot wounds near Chaheru village on Saturday.“We recovered a .32-bore pistol near the body, and a .12-bore rifle was confiscated from a Toyota Fortuner SUV parked near the crime scene,” Singla said. He added that a case has been registered under relevant sections for murder and under the Arms Act against unidentified assailants. Multiple teams, including counter-intelligence units, have been deployed to arrest the accused.The police also recovered two mobile phones belonging to the victim near his body.Kapurthala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gaurav Toora said that preliminary investigations indicate the victim was shot at point-blank range, with two bullets piercing his head.“We are gathering technical and digital evidence from the crime scene. We are also trying to ascertain who Simranjit had travelled from Jalandhar to meet at Chaheru village,” the SSP said.Bid on his life last year, tooSimranjit was known for filing RTI applications and public interest litigations (PILs) in the Punjab and Haryana high court on high-stakes, controversial issues. Most recently, on April 22, he filed a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of Punjab’s stringent anti-sacrilege law—the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.This was not the first attempt on his life. In June last year, Simranjit survived an attack when unidentified shooters opened fire on him as he was leaving a gym. Foreign-based gangster Jograj Singh, alias Joga Pholriwal, later claimed responsibility for that shooting.‘Jungle raj’ in state: SukhbirThe targeted killing of the lawyer who challenged the anti-sacrilege law triggered sharp reactions from opposition parties, who fiercely attacked the state government over the deteriorating law and order situation.Condemning the murder, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal called it a “direct attack on democracy and transparency”.“He is the same advocate who filed a PIL in the high court challenging the anti-sacrilege law. Given the gravity of the matter, this incident demands a thorough investigation by an independent agency. Anti-social elements are having a field day. Law and order has completely collapsed, and chief minister Bhagwant Mann is directly responsible for this ‘jungle raj’,” Badal said.Leader of opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa also condemned the killing, calling it a brutal reminder of institutional failure under the Bhagwant Mann-led government.“From gangsters to shooters, criminals seem to be operating without fear while the government remains busy with publicity and headlines. Punjab deserves justice, security, and accountability,” Bajwa said.