Uttarakhand dera chief’s murder accused killed in encounter

PTI

Haridwar, April 9

Amarjeet Singh Bittu, alias Ganda, one of the assailants who allegedly shot dead Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara dera kar seva chief Baba Tarsem Singh last month, was killed by a joint team of the STF and the police in an encounter on Tuesday.

Bittu had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head. The police said another accused, Sarabjit Singh, fled from the spot in Haridwar’s Kaliyar, and a search was underway to nab him. A reward of Rs 1 lakh has also been announced on Sarabjit, a resident of Tarn Taran.

Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said late on Monday evening, the STF received a tip-off that the criminals wanted in the murder case were going from Saharanpur to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh via Bhagwanpur and Kaliyar in Haridwar.

Kumar said the police and the STF jointly conducted operations at various places in Haridwar. Around 12:30 am, when the police team tried to stop two suspicious people moving on a motorcycle at the Gagalhedi intersection in Bhagwanpur, both of them started fleeing towards Imlikheda-Kaliyar, the DGP said.

When the police surrounded both the accused, they allegedly started firing. In the retaliatory action, Bittu was shot while Sarabjit escaped from the spot taking advantage of the darkness, said the DGP.

Injured Bittu was taken to the Roorkee Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, the DGP added.

Bittu has a long criminal history and several cases are registered against him and his associates in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for allegedly harbouring terrorists, raising slogans in support of Khalistan and robbing banks.

Considering the sensitivity of the case, apart from forming a six-member SIT, 11 teams were formed to unravel the murder case. Seven others had already been arrested in this case.

Baba Tarsem Singh was shot dead on March 28 on the shrine’s premises by two motorcycle-borne men in Udham Singh Nagar district.

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