Uttarakhand: Retired IAS Officer Among 5 Booked in Nanakmatta Gurdwara Kar Seva Chief Murder Case

Rudrapur: Police have booked five people, including a retired IAS officer, in connection with the murder of Baba Tarsem Singh, dera kar seva chief of the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district. Singh was shot dead inside the shrine's premises by two bike-borne masked men on Thursday. 

Those named in the FIR include the two assailants -- Sarabjit Singh and Amarjeet Singh -- IAS officer Harbans Singh Chugh who heads the Nanakmatta Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Baba Anup Singh and Pritam Singh Sandhu, the vice-president of a regional Sikh outfit, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manjunath TC said. The FIR was lodged on Friday, he said. 

Sarabjit Singh is a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab while Amarjeet Singh hails from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. They have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 120b (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention), the police officer said. 

Three others, including the retired IAS officer, have been named in the FIR as the complainant had raised suspicion about their role, the SSP said. The dera kar seva chief of the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara was sitting in a chair when he was shot with a rifle by the shooter who was riding pillion. Baba Tarsem Singh was rushed to a hospital in Khatima where he died during treatment. 

The Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara, around 50 km from Rudrapur, is a revered Sikh shrine located on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur route in the Udham Singh Nagar district of the state.  

(With PTI inputs)