The chairman of Iffco, the world’s largest farm fertiliser cooperative, Surinder Jakhar, was killed early on Monday morning in what the police has described as “accidental gunfire”.
Surinder Jakhar, second son of Balram Jakhar, former Lok Sabha Speaker, Madhya Pradesh governor and Union agriculture minister, accidentally shot himself while cleaning a loaded firearm at his Abohar family farmstead outside village Maujgarh in southwestern Punjab, the police said.
Senior Ferozepur police officers who reached the spot told reporters that a preliminary examination of the scene suggested that “the deceased’s weapon fired accidentally”.
A lone gunshot appeared to have pierced Mr Jakhar’s skull behind his right ear and death was almost instantaneous, one of them said. He was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors at a local hospital.
The police has, however, not entirely ruled out the possibility of Mr Jakhar having committed suicide amid still-to-be-confirmed reports of family tensions.
Both Capt. Amarinder Singh, former Punjab chief minister, and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed grief at the demise while conveying their condolences to the family.
Surinder Jakhar’s younger brother, Sunil Jakhar, is the sitting Congress legislator from Abhohar and is being seen as a rising star in Punjab politics.
Surinder Jakhar himself was a prominent leader of the cooperative movement and widely respected for his contributions to agricultural and rural development.
He as reelected chairman of Iffco in 2009 and was committed to augmenting farm incomes in the country.