Seven killings in two years: Religious leaders the target in Punjab

Almost all these leaders were shot dead by two unidentified, motorcycle-borne assailants in Punjab. Even though the state government set up special investigation teams (SITs) in some of these cases or handed them over to the CBI, there have been no significant breakthroughs, and all cases remain unsolved.

The murder of RSS leader Ravinder Gosai is the latest in a series of attacks on right-wing and other religious leaders in Punjab. Almost all these leaders were shot dead by two unidentified, motorcycle-borne assailants. Even though the state government set up special investigation teams (SITs) in some of these cases or handed them over to the CBI, there have been no significant breakthroughs, and all cases remain unsolved.

RSS leader Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd) Jagdish Gagneja, district president of Shri Hindu Takht Amit Sharma and president of Shiv Sena’s Punajb labour wing Durga Prasad Gupta were all gunned down in Punjab in the past two years. (HT Photo)

Here is a round-up of such killings in the state over the last two years.

June 16, 2017: Pastor Sultan Masih shot dead in Ludhiana by two bike-borne assailants outside a church in Peeru Banda Mohalla of Salem Tabri. An SIT was formed, but the case is still unsolved.

Feb 25, 2017: Dera Sacha Sauda follower Satpal Sharma (70) and his son Ramesh (40) shot dead at Jagera village on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road. No breakthroughs yet.

Jan 14, 2017: District president of Shri Hindu Takht Amit Sharma (35) shot dead outside Durga Mata Temple near Jagraon Bridge. The case remains unsolved.

Aug 6, 2016: RSS leader Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd) was shot at in Jalandhar. He died at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in Ludhiana. Though an SIT was formed, the killers remain at large.

April 3, 2016: Mata Chand Kaur, wife of former head of the Namdhari sect late Satguru Jagjit Singh, was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants at the Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara complex, 30 km from Ludhiana.

Jan 19, 2016: Two motorcycle-borne armed men opened fire on Rashtriya Swayamswak Sangh (RSS) leader Naresh Kumar in the wee hours at Shaheedi Park in Kidwai Nagar and fled. The RSS leader jumped aside to save himself from the attack. He suffered minor injury on his hand. The miscreants fled from the spot after the incident.

Maur blast also unsolved

A team of National Security Guards (NSG) collecting samples at the site of bomb blast in Maur on Thursday.

Jan 31, 2016: Five persons died when there was an explosion in a car parked at Maur Mandi around 8:30 pm shortly after the “jan sabha” of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi, who is contesting from Maur Assembly seat. While three people died on the spot, two children succumbed to their injuries later that week.