CHANDIGARH, Nov 10:
A Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who was an accused in the 2015 sacrilege cases, was shot dead on Thursday by five unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Faridkot district, police said.
Pardeep Singh was shot in his dairy shop at around 7 am in Kotkapura in Faridkot, the police said, adding that his security man and another person sustained bullet injuries in the incident.
The incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed nearby. Of the five motorcycle-borne assailants, two entered Pardeep Singh’s shop and opened fire at him. After they ran out of the shop, the other three waiting outside also opened fire. Several shots were fired in the incident.
After committing the crime, the assailants fled.
Pardeep Singh was an accused in a case of theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in June 2015 and also in a case linked to torn pages of the Sikh holy book being found scattered in Bargari in October 2015 in Faridkot. He was currently on bail.
Several senior officers including Additional Director General of Police (Law and order) Arpit Shukla and Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) Pradeep Kumar Yadav visited the crime spot and took stock of the situation.
A forensic team also reached the spot to collect samples.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav urged people to maintain peace and harmony in the state and said an investigation in the incident is underway.
“The situation is under control and I urge people to maintain peace and harmony in the state. @PunjabPoliceInd is doing proper investigation Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or any hate speech,” the DGP said in a tweet.
Speaking to reporters, IGP Pradeep Yadav said police have got some leads and are working on them. He said the assailants will be arrested soon. Police are also examining the CCTV footage of the incident.
Pardeep Singh’s killing came days after the November 4 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri in Amritsar. Both the victims had police protection. (PTI)
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