Sect head shot dead in Punjab

HOSHIARPUR - Unidentified assailants Sunday shot dead the head of Maidas Nirmali dera (sect) at village Baddon in this Punjab district, police said.

“After the morning prayer inside the dera hall, Sant Pardhan Singh went out to open the main gate. Some three-four persons were already standing outside the gate and they immediately fired at him,” said Amrik Singh, a resident of Baddon village.

“Before fleeing from the spot, they also fired at the tyres of the car parked outside the gate so that nobody could chase them. Pardhan Singh received four bullet injuries,” he added.

The local people immediately took Pardhan Singh to a civil hospital in Phagwara but he succumbed to his injuries on the way. He was residing in Baddon village for the last many years.

Police have registered a case against unidentified men.

“Police have found four empty shells of AK 47 bullets. We cannot ignore the role of personal enmity behind this incident,” said Rajesh Aggarwal, senior superintendent of police, Hoshiarpur.