Ludhiana, Jan 11 (IANS): Punjab ruling AAP’s legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, 58, from Ludhiana (West) died of bullet injuries under mysterious circumstances at his residence late on Friday night, police said.
Police said an autopsy report would confirm whether Bassi had committed suicide or if he had accidentally shot himself.
Confirming the death, Joint Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh Teja told the media in Ludhiana that Gurpreet Gogi was brought dead at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
Teja said, "As per the family members, he shot himself accidentally and sustained bullet injuries to his head. Gurpreet Gogi was declared dead at the hospital, his body has been kept at the mortuary in the DMC hospital."
The incident occurred around 12 a.m. soon after his return from a public function.
His wife, who was in another room, heard the gun shots and found him lying in a pool of blood.
He was rushed to the hospital with the help of security personnel where he was declared brought dead.
Gogi is survived by his wife Sukhchain Kaur Gogi, a son and daughter.
Police Commissioner Kuldeep Chahal and Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal, too, rushed to the DMCH.
The MLA's death was confirmed by district AAP President Sharanpal Singh Makkar and the Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal.
Gogi had joined the AAP in 2022 and defeated two-time MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu during the Assembly elections from the Ludhiana (West) Assembly constituency.
Gogi was a Ludhiana Municipal Corporation councillor twice before becoming a legislator in 2022.
Before joining the AAP, he was a Congress district (Urban) president.
Last year, Gogi had destroyed the foundation stone of a pipeline project in Buddha Nullah, for which he had laid the foundation stone in 2022.
He had expressed frustration over the delays in the project and Vidhan Sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had promised strict action against any hindrance to the clean-up project in response to the AAP legislator’s grievances.
Hours before his death, he had met with Sandhwan and AAP MP Sant Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal in Ludhiana for a cleanliness drive of Buddha Nullah.