An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) with the CIA staff in Ferozepur was shot dead by unidentified assailants on the Lauhka Road in Tarn Taran district on Jattvibeday evening.The deceased, Iqbal Singh, a resident of Naushera Pannuan village under the Sarhali police station area, was returning home after duty in Ferozepur when armed men intercepted him and opened fire around 6 pm, according to preliminary reports. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot.The police said the identity of the attackers and the motive behind the killing were yet to be ascertained. Senior officers, including DIG Ferozepur Range Sneh Sharma and Tarn Taran SSP Surinder Lamba, reached the spot and launched an investigation.Hours after the murder, a purported social media post attributed to foreign-based gangsters Prabh Dasuwal, Doni Bal, Mohabbat Randhawa, Afreedi Toot and Shaganpreet surfaced, claiming responsibility for the killing. The post alleged that the slain ASI had been aiding foreign-based gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa Harike.The gangsters also claimed they were being falsely linked to the recent murder of Ashwani Sarpanch and said they had no role in that killing. The police could not independently verify the authenticity of the post.The killing comes amid a spate of attacks on police personnel in the state. Four policemen have been killed in separate incidents this year, while two others have survived gun attacks.On the night of September 17-18, ASI Harjit Singh was shot dead near the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar while on PCR duty. In May, ASI Joga Singh was killed in Majitha. Two policemen were also killed in Dorangla in Gurdaspur district.In another incident, ASI Jaswant Singh survived a gun attack in Rajasansi on September 12. Earlier this month, on the night of October 4-5, ASI Sukhchain Singh of the Government Railway Police sustained a gunshot injury to his left arm near Jagdev Khurd village in Ajnala.Hours after the murder, a purported social media post attributed to foreign-based gangsters Prabh Dasuwal, Doni Bal, Mohabbat Randhawa, Afreedi Toot and Shaganpreet surfaced, claiming responsibility for the killing. The post alleged that the slain ASI had been aiding foreign-based gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa Harike.The gangsters also claimed they were being falsely linked to the recent murder of Ashwani Sarpanch and said they had no role in that killing. The police could not independently verify the authenticity of the post.