Dera follower accused of sacrilege, shot dead in Punjab
Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 Nov, 2022 12:05 PM
Chandigarh, Nov 10 (IANS) Dera Sacha Sauda follower and an accused in the Guru Granth Sahib 'bir' theft and sacrilege, Pradeep Singh, was shot dead by five unidentified men on two motorcycles in Punjab's Kotkapura town when he was going to open his shop.
His gunman also sustained bullet injuries.
Singh was an accused in the theft of 'bir' from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 1, 2015. He was on bail and was provided security.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 and subsequent violence in the state in which the police force was accused of excesses that left two people dead.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to the people to maintain peace and calm.
"No one will be allowed to disturb the peace of Punjab. Strict instructions to the civil and police officials to maintain the peace and tranquility of the state," he said in a statement.
Justice Ranjit Singh (retd), who headed the commission appointed by the previous Congress government into the alleged incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and the subsequent police firing on protesters, has placed the then Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal, and then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in dock.
Also, he had castigated the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, whose chief and self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence for raping two of his disciples and a life term for a journalist's killing, for the incident of sacrilege.
Justice Singh made these comments in January on the release of his 423-page book 'The Sacrilege' based on his inquiry when he was heading the government set up commission.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal and his father were recently questioned by the SIT regarding the Kotkapura firing case and the case of sacrilege.
A senior Delhi Police official told IANS that on April 7, a case was registered at the Cyber Cell in which a fraudster impersonated as a senior government official using the WhatsApp display profile and the name of that dignitary and demanded financial favour in the shape of Amazon gift vouchers by pretending to be in trouble.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police from Punjab: "Extornist Sharif, alias Mazaralam Shaikh, had called up an Amritsar-based doctor demanding Rs 5 lakh as ransom. After introducing himself as Vicky Brar and a member of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, he had threatened to kill the doctor if the ransom money was not transferred into his account."
In less than 24 hours, police found the baby girl's parents, who were identified as Manjula and Sailesh Bajania. They admitted before the police that they buried the baby as it was premature birth, and since they were financially weak and feared medical expenses, they decided to bury her.
In her letter, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal demanded that the woman's mortal remains be repatriated to her family in India and a team of psychologists, social workers and police officers meet her children and ascertain their condition.
As per this policy, the royalty of Rs 2.40 per cubic feet will be the same as earlier. Revenue collected under the Information and Technology Department and weigh bridge head, which is 10 paise per cubic feet, will be deposited in the state exchequer instead of being retained by the contractor currently.
BSF's Deputy Inspector General, Gurdaspur Sector, Prabhakar Joshi informed that BSF had recovered Rs 500, two mobile phones, two identity cards and a packet of tobacco from their possession. However, he said that their motive to infiltrate India was yet to be known and BSF was investigating the same.
