Two former sarpanches were murdered in Ludhiana and Bathinda districts during the past 24 hours.Navtej Singh Neetu (57), former sarpanch of Manewal village in Ludhiana, was shot dead on Saturday evening, while Jagtar Singh (65) was hacked to death with an axe outside a liquor vend at Jassi Pauwali Chowk in Bathinda district on Jattvibeday evening.The Ludhiana police have booked seven persons in connection with the murder of Navtej Singh Neetu, including his cousin.The preliminary investigation points towards a long-standing land dispute between the victim and his cousin, with the police suspecting that contract killers may have been engaged to execute the killing.Navtej was returning home from his fields at Manewal when two motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted his Toyota Innova on Saturday evening and opened fire. Around 10 shots were fired on the moving vehicle from a .30 bore pistol, leaving Navtej with multiple bullet injuries. He died on the spot.A land dispute between Navtej and his cousin is already pending in a local court, while a related case is also before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The police said the two had allegedly quarrelled and threatened each other in the past.Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said the initial investigation suggested that Navtej’s cousin might have hatched the conspiracy to eliminate him over a property dispute. The suspects have reportedly locked their houses and fled.A major lead for the investigators is the dashcam installed in Navtej’s car. The police said the camera captured two motorcycle-borne assailants during the attack. Investigators have managed to identify one of the suspects, but his identity has not been disclosed so far.“The initial investigation suggests that the murder was linked to a property dispute. We are also examining the role of those who may have been hired to carry out the killing,” the commissioner said.He said six police teams, working under the supervision of a deputy commissioner of police, had been formed to trace the suspects.The police are examining the dashcam footage, CCTV recordings and other evidence to establish the sequence of events and identify all those involved in the murder. Further investigation is underway.In Bathinda district, Jagtar Singh, alias Tara, a resident of Phus Mandi village, had reportedly gone to the liquor vend to buy liquor when he was attacked.According to his relatives, Jagtar Singh was initially hit with an axe twice. The attacker later returned from a nearby chowk and attacked him again and fled. Jagtar succumbed to his injuries.The incident took place in the presence of the public, but nobody came forward to intervene, relatives of the deceased claimed. His brother said he was not aware of any enmity involving the deceased.The police have arrested the accused, identified as Gurbaksh Singh of the same Phus Mandi village, along with the weapon used to commit the crime.Bathinda SP (City) Aaswant Singh visited the spot and said the accused and the deceased had a personal enmity.Jagtar Singh is survived by a son and a daughter.