Murder of Namdhari ex-head’s wife: ‘Arrest feuding nephew Dalip Singh’

Even as the police constituted a special investigation team to probe the fatal shooting of Chand Kaur, widow of former Namdhari sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh, followers sought arrest of Thakur Dalip Singh, her nephew who heads a feuding faction of the sect, for the murder on Monday.

Even as the police constituted a special investigation team to probe the fatal shooting of Chand Kaur, widow of former Namdhari sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh, followers sought arrest of Thakur Dalip Singh, their nephew who heads a feuding faction of the sect, for the murder on Monday.

Clockwise from left: Chand Kaur, wife of the late Satguru Jagjit Singh; her nephew Thakur dalip Singh who heads a faction at Sirsa; and her other nephew Uday Singh, who was chosen as Satguru at Bhaini Sahib sect headquarters after Jagjit Singh died. (HT File Photos)

Meanwhile, Satguru Uday Singh, the head of the sect’s dominant faction that controls the headquarters at Bhaini Sahib, reached the Bhaini Sahib gurdwara in the evening. Around 30 sect followers took out a march near the gurdwara seeking speedy investigation in the case. They carried posters of Thakur Dalip Singh, who has his headquarters at Sirsa, and claimed that he was behind the murder owing to the succession feud.

The police SIT was formed under commissioner of police Jatinder Singh Aulakh and Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Satinder Singh.

Chand Kaur was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday morning and succumbed to her injuries at around 2 pm. Unidentified assailants opened fire on her at Bhaini Sahib gurudwara injuring her critically. Police sources said the 88-year-old was hit by two bullets — one in the abdomen and another below her ear. The two men fled towards Macchiwara triggering panic in the area. Heavy police force was deployed after the incident.