Jagdish Gagneja, vice-president of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Punjab wing, was shot at in Jalandhar late on Saturday night. The retired army officer sustained three bullet injuries, IANS reported. The Punjab Police set up a special investigation team to probe the incident. Gagneja was reportedly shot by two masked men who fled the scene.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the incident, while Congress state chief Amarinder Singh in a statement said that “such nefarious designs deserve to be nipped in the bud lest these push Punjab into anarchy”. Bharatiya Janata Party National Secretary Tarun Chugh told the media, "We have asked the state government to take this matter seriously and strict action should be taken against those who were behind this incident.” Chugh added that people "involved in terrorist activities" could have been behind the attack and called it an act to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state, PTI reported.

Earlier this year, Shiv Sena leader Durga Prasad was killed in Khanna, Punjab.