The main accused in the March 28 murder of 'karseva' chief of Uttarakhand's Nanakmatta Gurdwara, Baba Tarsem Singh, was killed in an encounter with the state Special Task Force (STF) in the Bhagwanpur area of Haridwar in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.
Amarjit Singh alias Bittu, the shooter and the main accused was carrying Rs 1 lakh bounty on his head.
He was killed while his accomplice fled, Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar told the news agency ANI. The Uttarakhand Special Task Force and Haridwar Police have launched a joint operation to trace the absconding accused, the DGP said.
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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had instructed DGP Abhinav Kumar to take strict action in the murder case of Nanakmatta Gurdwara's 'karseva' chief Baba Tarsem Singh.
Baba Tarsem Singh was shot dead on March 28 by two bike-borne assailants at the Nanakmatta Gurdwara in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar.
The assailants were caught on camera. In the CCTV footage shared by PTI the dera chief could be seen sitting on a chair at around 6:30 am in the premises when two bike-borne assailants arrived and fired at him.
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The Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara is a revered Sikh shrine located on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur route in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
"Two rounds were fired at Singh who was sitting on a chair. The first shot was fired from the front and the other from the back. Singh immediately fell on the ground," Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manju Nath had said.
Days after the murder, an FIR was registered at the Nanakmatta police station against Harbansh Singh Chugh, a former IAS officer, and two others, identified as Pritam Singh and Baba Anoop Singh.
A sevadar of the karseva, Jasbir Singh, alleged that Chugh, along with the two others named in the FIR, plotted Baba Tarsem Singh's killing. He also claimed the involvement of others in the alleged murder plot, ANI reported.
Subsequently, three more suspects were apprehended in connection with the case. According to police, they were allegedly involved in orchestrating the crime by recruiting criminals, providing resources, and supplying weapons.
