'Mera rabb rakha, mata tension na leya kar,' Nijjar had told worried mother, before being shot dead

“Mera rabb rakha, mata tension na leya kar," an inconsolably crying Guljinder Kaur, mother of Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi Nijjar, recalled these words of her son, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the wee hours this morning.

Attacked earlier in the village and having stayed under police protection for months, Nijjar’s family never thought a visit to a fast-food joint would claim his life. Shock and gloom prevailed at his native village Jairampur at Subhanpur in Kapurthala, as a Dhilwan police employee and the village sarpanch broke the news of Nijjar’s murder on Friday morning.

Relatives gathered at Gopi’s village home where there was a somber atmosphere, with women weeping and wailing.

Nijjar (33) was the last witness in the gangster Sukha Kahlwan murder case. He was found dead in his car at Dhilwan in Kapurthala, with a bullet having pierced his vehicle’s windshield. Nijjar had been a long-time associate of deceased gangster Sukha Kahlwan and was considered his right hand man who didn’t turn hostile in the case despite many others bowing out.

Living in fear ever since her son began appearing as a witness in the high-profile case, Nijjar’s mother said she and his friends had repeatedly warned him not to go out in late hours, as he had many enemies.

Guljinder Kaur said, “Jadon di Sukhe di gawahi ditti, odon da sadde dhidd ch dar si. Odon ton samjhaunde si putt nhere na jaya kar. Ohne kehna mera rabb rakha – mata tension na leya kar. (Ever since he appeared as witness for Sukha Kahlwan, we lived in great fear. We pleaded with him not to go out late, but he would ask me not to worry, saying God would protect him.) He didn’t even tell me last evening before going out. Just told his niece he was heading to a burger joint to see friends."

The family said he left after persistent calls from a "friend" on Thursday evening.

Nijjar’s mother said, “A village boy had introduced him to Sukha (Kahlwan) when Gopi was just 17-18 then. Since then, they had been good friends. Earlier too, he had been attacked at the village, but survived. We had filed a report with the police and action was also taken."

While Nijjar was unmarried, he was the only son living with his parents, mother Guljnder Kaur and father Jasvir Singh. His two sisters and a brother are settled abroad.

Friend Manpreet Singh Manu said, “He was repeatedly called by a friend last night and said he was going to meet someone at the food joint. We got to know late night that shots had been fired at him. He was very close to Sukha Kahlwan and they were good friends. He had great faith in God."