Barnala, Oct. 6 -- Three persons were arrested in connection with the murder of Sukhbinder Singh Calcutta, son of a former sarpanch, at Sehna bus stand in Barnala, deputy inspector general (Patiala range) Kuldeep Singh Chahal said on Sunday. The accused have been identified as Harjinder Singh alias Jinder, Gurdeep Das alias Deepi Bawa and Jagwinder Singh alias Paplu, all residents of Sehna village. An illegal .32-bore pistol, three live cartridges and an i20 car have been seized. DIG Chahal said the deceased's family mentioned political rivalry in its complaint but a detailed investigation is being carried out to ascertain the exact motive behind the crime. Deceased's brother Sukhjit Singh mentioned in the FIR registered on Saturday night that their mother Malkeet Kaur had defeated the wife of Gurdeep Das in the sarpanch elections in 2018. He mentioned that the deceased was active in panchayat works so some people had a rivalry because of that. "Gurdeep's family had occupied a chunk of panchayat land which was reclaimed during the tenure of Sukhbinder's mother after a panchayat ghar was built on the said land. Since then, Gurdeep had been threatening the family," the FIR read. The family accused Gurdeep and a few others of hiring Harjinder for the murder. Sukhbinder was shot dead allegedly by Harjinder at Sehna bus stand at around 4 pm on Saturday. According to the police, Harjinder has four cases registered against him, three under the Arms Act and one under the NDPS. Gurdeep Das also has two cases registered against him. Jagwinder Singh alias Paplu has no criminal history. Cops said Jagwinder Singh went along with Harjinder Singh in Ludhiana to arrange a weapon. The family has also alleged that Harjinder had been demanding money from the deceased. Sections 103(1) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 25 of the Arms Act have been slapped on the accused. Sukhbinder Singh Calcutta was vocal about regional issues. He had recently shifted his political allegiance from the Congress to Simranjit Singh Mann's Akali Dal. Meanwhile, villagers staged a protest over the killing. MP Charanjit Singh Channi visited the protest site and said that the murder case should be investigated by the CBI....