Alert sounded in Moga district after Dera Sacha Sauda follower's murder

Moga, November 10

An alert has been sounded in the district after the murder of Pardeep Singh, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower, at Kotkapura town early this morning.

A senior police official said special nakas were set up on vulnerable roads to check the movement of suspicious persons. Policemen were also deployed outside the main deras of the sect.

The security of some influential members of Dera Sacha Sauda living in Moga and Faridkot districts was also being reviewed by the state intelligence department.

Police personnel were also keeping an eye on the activities of dera followers anticipating that they may gather at local deras in the wake of the murder.

Slain dera follower Pardeep Singh was facing a criminal case in the district. He was among scores of dera followers who allegedly damaged vehicles and set PRTC buses on fire during a protest on March 7, 2011.

On July 7 this year, a court in Moga had sentenced three Dera Sacha Sauda followers to three-year imprisonment after finding them guilty of sacrilege at Malke village in Moga in 2015.