Punjab Police Steps Up Security After 2015 Sacrilege Accused Killed in Jail, CM Appeals for Peace

The officers said that preliminary investigations have revealed that Bittu (49), a resident of Faridkot, was allegedly attacked by Gursewak Singh and Maninder Singh, who were lodged in the Nabha prison in a murder case.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh ordered an inquiry into the attack on the prime suspect in the Bargari sacrilege case at the New Nabha prison, warning of stringent punishment for the assailants, an official statement said.

Bittu, a follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was accused in the case related to the desecration of Shri Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari, Faridkot in 2015.

Additional Director General of Prisons Rohit Chaudhary will head the fact-finding committee, which has been asked to submit the report within three days, the statement said.

“The inquiry will be in addition to the mandatory judicial inquest into the murder of the accused, Mahinderpal Bittu, who was arrested last year,” it said.

The chief minster has ordered beefing up of security in the state in the wake of the attack on Bittu, while appealing to all communities to maintain peace and “not give in to rumours.” Those involved in the attack would face punishment, he asserted.

(With inputs from PTI)