LUDHIANA: Chand Kaur, wife of former head of the Namdhari sect late Satguru Jagjit Singh, was on Monday shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants at the Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara complex, 30 km from Ludhiana.
The attackers opened fire at Chand Kaur, 88, from a close range at the entrance of Satguru Partap Singh Academy — a school run by the sect on the gurdwara premises — around 10 am.
Chand Kaur had come to the school to attend ardas and inaugural ceremony on the first day of the new session. As she came out of the academy in an electronic golf cart, a youth approached her and bent down to touch her feet. Suddenly, he took out a pistol and fired two shots at her and fled along with his accomplice on a bike.
Kaur, who suffered bullet injuries in the head and abdomen, was rushed to the Apollo hospital where she was pronounced dead at 2 pm. The cremation will be held at Bhaini Sahib at 1 pm on Tuesday.
Chand Kaur was facing threats but had refused to take the security cover offered by police.
A murder case has been registered against unidentified assailants. A special investigation team headed by Ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh has been formed to crack the case.
Heavy police force was deployed in Bhaini Sahib following the incident. A massive combing operation has been launched in Bhaini Sahib, Machhiwara, Khanna and nearby places to nab the assailants.
A huge number of sect followers gathered outside the gurdwara on hearing about the attack. All shops in the vicinity of the Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara were closed as a mark of mourning.
Thakur Uday Singh, the sitting head of the sect, reached Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara in the evening. Around 30 sect followers took out a march near the gurdwara demanding speedy probe into the case. The followers carried posters of Thakur Dalip Singh and alleged that he was behind the murder.
I never wanted the gaddi, says Dalip Singh
THE MURDER of Chand Kaur, 88, wife of the late Satguru Jagjit Singh, former Namdhari sect head, on Monday shook the entire Namdhari community, including Thakur Dalip Singh who claimed “he has lost his mother and do not care about the allegations being levelled against him”.
“I never wanted to be on the gaddi. I have lost my mother who raised me. She loved me more than my real mother. If people are saying that I got her killed, there cannot be a bigger blot on humanity. I do not care who is saying what.”
He and his younger brother Thakur Uday Singh are involved in a succession row. When the latter was given the gaddi (the highest sect seat), differences grew in the family.
Sharing his side of the story, Dalip Singh reiterated that he was not after the gaddi. “My mother was the peacemaker of our family. I wanted her to be on the gaddi. Why can’t a woman head the Namdhari sect? It has never happened but it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. She spent her entire life in the service of people. The entire panth bowed before her,” he said. “For me, gaddi was never an issue.”
Well-planned murder
Police said the murder was well-planned and the assailants had conducted a proper recce of the area and were aware of Chand Kaur’s movements. There are CCTV cameras installed at the main entrance of the Bhaini Sahib Gurdwara. However, the assailants opened fire at her at the entrance of the academy — around 800 m from the main gurudwara gate where there are no cameras.
Dy CM, Capt mourn death of Mata Chand Kaur
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed deep shock and grief over the demise of Mata Chand Kaur, wife of former Namdhari head late Satguru Jagjit Singh, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants this morning.