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.
Padma Shri Sahney made this announcement before taking oath of office in Parliament. Before the oath, he took part in 'kirtan' and 'ardaas' organised at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib here. On the occasion, Sahney announced that he will donate all his and staff salary of his tenure for the education of economically weaker students.
Mann said the 254-km long Delhi-Katra highway will be constructed at a cost Rs 11,510 crore and will pass through nine districts of the state -- Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
In a status report before Justice Anoop Chitkara's Bench, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhnaaz Singh said in view of the facts and circumstances, it is evident that there is sufficient prima facie evidence on record which reveals that the petitioner is the main conspirator, who hatched conspiracy with Gaurav Patial (accused) for eliminating Middukhera.
In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati over 16 years ago. His conviction on August 25, 2017 had led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured.
According to customs officials, "The gold was in the form of a paste which was wrapped in black tape in two packets. The total weight of the packets was 433 grams. After removing the tape and other impurities from gold, it weighs 397 grams."
The two accused -- Ankit Sersa and Sachin Chaudhary had been in the custody of the Delhi Police in an arms case. Chief metropolitan magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria granted their transit remand to the Mansa Police SIT team that is probing the murder of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala.
