AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi dies after sustaining bullet injury, family claims 'accidentally shot himself'

AAP MLA from Ludhiana West died on Friday. (Gurpreet Gogi/X)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Ludhiana West, Gurpreet Gogi, died after suffering bullet injuries at his residence late on Friday night.

His family members claimed that he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his pistol and sustained bullet injuries to his head, India Today reported.

The incident took place at Gogi’s residence in the Ghumar Mandi area. He was rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) but was declared dead on arrival.

Kuldeep Singh Chahal, Police Commissioner, Ludhiana, told The Indian Express that prima facie it seemed like the incident took place while the AAP MLA was cleaning his weapon but it was being verified “if it was a suicide or accidental fire”.

A four-time Congress councillor in Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and former district president of Ludhiana Congress (Urban), 58-year-old Gogi quit the Congress after 22 years to join AAP ahead of the Punjab elections in 2022 and was given a ticket from Ludhiana West. A first-time MLA, he had defeated former Congress minister and two-time MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu by more than 7,000 votes.

Hours before the incident, Gogi had held a meeting with Punjab Vidhan Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal for cleaning Buddha Nullah. He had also visited a temple in BRS Nagar where a theft had taken place and had assured justice in the case, The Indian Express reported.