Accused in Uttarakhand dera chief’s killing shot dead in police encounter

The encounter took place near Kaliyar Road, in the Bhagwanpur police station area of Haridwar. On seeing police, the two allegedly opened fire. Officers said Amarjeet was killed when police fired back, but Sarvjeet managed to flee the spot. A .32 bore pistol was recovered from Amarjeet’s possession, police said.

Police said there were at least four other cases registered against Amarjeet, including one under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly harbouring terrorists and their associates.

On March 28, the Dera Karseva Pramukh of Nanakmatta Gurdwara, in the Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, was killed by two men who rode into the dera premises on a bike and opened fire at the 60-year-old.

The Uttarakhand Police registered an FIR for murder and conspiracy in connection with the incident. The two main accused, who were caught on CCTV camera as they rode in and shot Tarsem Singh, were found to have been living at the shelter in the gurdwara premises since March 19.

Police have previously arrested seven people in the case – Dilbag Singh, Amandeep Singh alias Kala, Balkar Singh, Harvinder Singh alias Pindi, Jaspal Singh, Pargat Singh and Sukhdev Singh alias Sonu Gill. They were allegedly involved in conspiracy and in arranging resources, including the murder weapon.

On Friday, police said in a statement that the murder of Tarsem Singh was planned by the accused at the behest of some “important people”, with the aim of taking over the management of Nanakmatta Gurdwara’s dera karseva and other important deras in the Terai region.