The brother of Punjab Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) vice president was murdered here on Tuesday morning.

The body of Mukesh Nayyar, brother of Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Nayyar, was found at 6 am near his house.

Talking about the crime, IG (Border range) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar said, “The crime was committed at the spur of the moment. Mukesh had no links with any Hindu outfit. He was a vegetable trader and had left his Bhandari Mohalla home at 4 am to go to the vegetable market. Around 5 am his servant informed the family that he had not reached the market following which a search was launched.

“His blood-smeared body was found at 6 am, 50 metres from his housee. Prima facie, it appears that he was robbed and then done to death. The robbers attacked him in the neck with a sharp-edged weapon. Mukesh had no contact with any Hindu organisation. He was not even a primary member of the Shiv Sena.”

Mukesh was carrying Rs 1.5 lakh in cash which the assailants decamped with.

The murder triggered protests from Hindu leaders, who claimed that members of their community were being targeted even as the IG denied a communal angle.

Ramesh Nayyar said members of his community were not safe and that the cops had not done anything to allay their fears. His call for Batala bandh, however, did not evoke much response as shops remained open.

Minutes after the deceased’s body was found, police sounded an alert. Batala SSP Opinderjit Singh Ghuman corroborated the IG’s version saying “prima facie it appears a case of robbery cum murder”.

“I have formed four teams to crack the case. Investigation is on. I rule out the communal angle,” he said.

The Gurdaspur police swung into action and started checking on the national highway leading to Batala. SSP Swarandeep Singh said security of Hindu leaders was being beefed up. “We have established half a dozen check posts in and around the city. Security at the bus stand and railway station has been beefed up,” he said.

Despite the IG and Batala SSP having ruled out the communal angle, mystery surrounds the death. A fortnight ago, unidentified people had shot at Honey Mahajan, vice president of the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) and his fellow shopkeeper Ashok Kumar, critically injuring the former and killing the latter. The incident had occurred on February 10. The Gurdaspur police are yet to make a breakthrough in the case.

Meanwhile, Harvinder Soni, vice president of Punjab Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray), who has been provided 20 security guards, said security of Hindu leaders of the area should be enhanced. Soni had survived a murderous assault on April 12, 2015 following which his security was upped.

TNS