A local Congress leader was shot dead at his residence in Punjab’s Moga district on Monday by some unidentified miscreants.

According to the police, the assailants barged into the house of the local leader, identified as Baljinder Singh Balli, and opened fire, India Today reported.

Balli was the Congress block president in Ajitwal. The incident was purportedly captured on CCTV installed outside Balli’s residence in Dala village.

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The CCTV shows assailants fleeing the scene immediately after the attack, leaving Singh critically injured. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

A few hours later, a Canada-based Khalistani terrorist, Arsh Dalla, took responsibility for the murder in a Facebook post.

In his post, Dalla alleged that Baljinder Singh Balli had ruined his future and forced him into the gangster culture. He also mentioned that the Congress leader was behind his mother’s police custody, which motivated him to seek revenge.

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Arsh Dalla is a listed terrorist and is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He has been operating from Canada for the last three to four years and has been involved in many terrorist killings in Punjab.

However, the police have not yet confirmed who was behind the murder and have launched an investigation.

Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa denounced the heinous act.

“In a harrowing incident, the Congress president from Ajitwal block of district Moga, Baljinder Singh Balli (45) was shot dead at his residence today. I condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms. My heart goes out to the family of the victim,” Bajwa wrote on social media site X.

The incident came to light on the day the Canadian government alleged India’s role in the killing of the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey.

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly rejected Canada’s charges. “We reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.

MEA’s statement came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country’s security agencies were probing a link between the Indian government and the killing of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey by two unidentified assailants on June 18 this year. Trudeau also said he had brought up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit.