Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pradeep Singh who was accused in a sacrilege case was shot dead in Kotkapura on Thursday by five men riding two bikes. Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who is accused in the murder of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder in a long post on social media platform Facebook.
Pardeep Singh Singh was an accused in the theft case of a bir of Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, back in 2015. He was granted bail and given police cover. The deceased and injured are in Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital at Faridkot.
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On Thursday morning, he was opening his dairy shop situated on Hari Nau Road in Kotkapura when he was shot dead at 7am, and the incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed nearby. The footage shows a woman standing near a shop running to save her life. The accused who purportedly fired at Singh is not wearing a mask on his face and appears to be in his 20s. His police gunman also sustained bullet injuries. The police have sealed the site and said that they are investigating the matter.
Hours later, in an alleged Facebook post, gangster Goldy Brar said, " I, Goldy Brar from Lawrence Bishnoi gang, takes the responsibility of murder of 2015 Bargari Beadbi (sacrilege) case."
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Brar allegedly said that there were three governments in the last seven years but there was no justice in the case and today he had done the 'justice. “We are sad for the policeman injured in the attack. But those who provide security to accused of desecrating Guru Granth Sahib just for a salary also deserve our condemnation,” the post added.
Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) said there was dereliction in duty on the part of police employees, on security with the deceased. Pardeep Singh was running a small grocery and dairy shop. The IGP said the police were examining the CCTV footage of the incident, showing that the five had come on two bikes.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed for peace, and said no one will be allowed to disturb peace in the state. “Punjab is a peace loving state where mutual brotherhood of people is very strong... No one will be allowed to disturb the peace of Punjab… Strict instructions to the civil and police officials to maintain the peace and tranquillity in the state,” said Mann in a tweet.
Growing list of Dera followers executed in Punjab
Pardeep Singh became the seventh Dera follower on Thursday to be killed since the first sacrilege case reported from Burj, dating 2015. Below are the six fatalities listed in chronological order.
• Jawahar Singh Wala in Faridkot (June 1, 2015)
• Gurdev Singh (June 13, 2016) Sat Pal Sharma
• Ramesh Kumar Sharma (Jaghera village, Khanna on February 25, 2017)
• Mohinder Pal Bittu (Nabha Jail on January 23, 2019)
• Manohar Lal on January 20, 2020 at Bhagta Bhai ke village, Bathinda; and
• Charan Dass (December 3, 2021 at Bhunder village in Muktsar).
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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.
