Patiala/Faridkot, June 22:Fearing violence, the police on Sunday stepped up security in parts of Punjab after Dera Sacha Sauda follower Mohinder Pal Bittu, an accused in various sacrilege cases, was murdered in the Nabha jail on Saturday evening.
He was allegedly attacked by two jail inmates with an iron rod, killing him on the spot.
The accused have been identified as Maninder Singh and Gursewak Singh, both serving life terms for murder. Sources said the weapon used in crime was procured by the accused from a construction site inside the jail itself.
Jail Superintendent Balkar Singh Bhullar said, “The incident took place following an altercation between Bittu and the accused in the evening. The motive is yet to be ascertained.”
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to the public not to get swayed by rumours and maintain peace at all costs.
“After conducting post-mortem, Bittu’s body reached his hometown Kotkapura where he will be cremated later in the day,” a senior police official said.
He said as per the wishes of the family, the body was kept in Naam Charcha Ghar of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, where a large number of followers started gathering. Kotkapura has a huge sect following.
Bittu is survived by two sons and a daughter. Belonging to Kotkapura town of Faridkot, Bittu, state panel member of the dera, was nabbed by the special investigation team (SIT) of Faridkot police from Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) last year.
Owner of a bakery shop, Bittu had been absconding since August 2017 following the conviction of dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. He was one of the around 150 dera followers booked by the Panchkula police for violence that broke out after the dera head’s conviction.
He had been lodged in the high-security Nabha jail for the past 11 months.
In June 2018, the Kotkapura police had booked Bittu for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs, carrying an illegal weapon and being involved in unlawful activities.
A case under Section 295-A of the IPC, Sections 13(1) and 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against him.
He was accused in many sacrilege incidents, including the one that took place at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari.
According to the police, a Sikh scripture was recovered from his house lying in a disrespectful condition in scrap last year. The police also seized a piece of paper on which Bittu and his associates had scribbled about a plan to disrupt railway traffic.
Twenty-five empty cartridges of a .32 bore gun were also seized from his house.
In April, the District and Sessions Judge, Faridkot, dismissed the bail plea of Bittu, who had claimed he was falsely implicated in the case. The public prosecutor had claimed that Bittu was involved in not one, but many cases of sacrilege. Bittu was also involved in damaging public property in Moga in 2011, he added.
During an investigation into Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura police firing incidents, the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission had also identified Bittu as one of the main conspirators who planned sacrilege.
CAPT orders inquiry. 2 staffers suspended
- Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh has ordered an inquiry into the fatal assault, warning of stringent punishment for the assailants
- ADGP (Prisons) Rohit Chaudhary will head the fact-finding committee that has been asked to submit its report in three days
- Two jail officials have been suspended, three shifted
