The leader of a religious sect shot himself dead with his rifle near Haryana's Yamunanagar town, police said on Thursday.   Tirath Das, a mahant of the Dera Om Sewa, was found dead by sect members in his room. Police officials said that the religious man shot himself with his own rifle.

"The reasons for this are not yet known. We are investigating," a police official said.

The incident took place during the ongoing Kapal Mochan fair, which draws lakhs of people annually in Yamunanagar district, about 100 km from Chandigarh.