Faridkot (Punjab): A Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who was an accused in a 2015 sacrilege incident, was shot dead on Thursday morning by some unidentified assailants in Punjab's Faridkot district, said police. The deceased was identified as Pradeep Singh, who was named in Bargari blasphemy cases. The assailants came on bikes and opened fire.
The incident took place when Pradeep was going to open his shop in Kotkapura in the morning hours, they said, adding Pradeep's gunman sustained bullet injuries in the incident. Pradeep Singh died on the spot while his gunman was badly injured and immediately rushed to the hospital.
Pradeep was also one of the accused in a case of theft of a 'bir' (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 in Faridkot. He has been arrested and currently out on bail. The sacrilege incidents in Faridkot in 2015 had triggered protests in the entire district. In those violent incidents, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot after police fired at protesters in October 2015.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, where the dera is headquartered. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017.
