Bathinda, March 8 -- The election tribunal of Muktsar has disqualified Harike Kalan's newly elected sarpanch Gurpreet Singh due to his conviction in a 2014 criminal case.

Muktsar subdivisional magistrate (SDM)-cum-election tribunal Baljit Kaur confirmed on Friday that a verdict was passed a day before. She said that after Gurpreet's disqualification, the runner-up, Pargat Singh Brar, was declared the sarpanch.

Brar's lawyer MS Brar said Gurpreet was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment by a Patiala district court on September 17, 2014, and a penalty of Rs.1 lakh was imposed on him after the police had seized 3-kg opium from his possession.

In his election petition challenging Gurpreet's election, the complainant stated that Gurpreet had m...