The Ludhiana rural police on Monday arrested a history-sheeter in connection with the firing at Gurdwara Manji Sahib in Rajoana Kalan village, four days after two masked men entered the shrine and fired two shots at the head sewadar’s room. The accused Raj Singh, alias Raju, has seven previous FIRs registered against him, including four cases of drug peddling and three involving extortion and other offences, police said.
According to the police, the firing was intended to intimidate the gurdwara’s head sewadar, Baldev Singh, who had reportedly been receiving threat calls. The motive behind the alleged blackmail, however, remains under investigation, the police said, adding that a hunt was on to nab the other accused whose identity was yet to be established.
Addressing a media conference, Ludhiana (rural) senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ankur Gupta said the two accused arrived at Gurdwara Manji Sahib on a motorcycle around 3.15 am on October 28, entered the premises, opened fire towards the head sewadar’s room and fled. A case of attempt to murder was registered at Sudhar police station following the incident.
At the time of the firing, Baldev Singh was inside the bathroom and escaped unhurt. He told police that he came out only after ensuring that the assailants had left and then informed the police. CCTV cameras installed on the gurdwara premises captured the two masked men.
The arrested accused is a native of Noorpur Machhiwara village in Ferozepur district. Police records show that four cases of drug peddling and three cases related to extortion and other offences have been registered against him in Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Faridkot.
SSP Gupta said police teams, assisted by the Counter Intelligence wing, examined CCTV footage, covering nearly 200 km along the suspected escape routes, to identify the assailants. The interrogation of Raj Singh is expected to provide further leads in the case, he added.
Deputy superintendent of police (Dakha) Karan Singh Sandhu said the reason behind the alleged blackmail was yet to be established. “No link of the accused with any mainstream gang has been established so far. However, the investigation is at an early stage and all possible links are being explored,” he said.