IFFCO chief found dead in Abohar

The death was shrouded in mystery,with claims and counterclaims on whether the 57-year-old had shot himself accidentally while cleaning his revolver or he committed suicide. The possibility of foul play is not being ruled out either.

Surinder had gone to his farm in Maujgarh,around 25 km from Abohar,at 11 am today. As per family members,he wanted to inspect the kinnow production at his farm personally. His gun went off around 2 pm,killing him on the spot.

As per sources,there was nobody else at the farm at the time of the incident.

The bullet,said sources,entered his skull from the right and exited from the left — an unusual injury for someone getting shot while cleaning a gun.

Abohar Superintendent of Police Varinder Singh Brar said Surinder’s nephew Sandeep had told them he had died of accidental firing. “We are going as per his statement and will investigate further,” said Brar.

Incidentally,till the evening,the police hadn’t visited the farm to recover the weapon. Surinder’s driver rushed him to the hospital in Abohar,where he was declared brought dead.

Surinder’s family says he had no enmity with anybody,nor was he involved in politics,though he would get stressed over matters.

Surinder is the second of Jakhar’s three sons. His elder brother Sajjan Kumar is a former Punjab minister,while younger Sunil is the sitting Congress MLA from Abohar.

Surinder is survived by wife Kanta Devi and two children. While son Sandeep Jakhar is the district president of the Youth Congress,his daughter is married.

His body was handed over to the family in the evening after postmortem and he will be cremated tomorrow in Abohar.