Leader of Hindu outfit shot dead in Amritsar

 

Fourteen bullets were fired at Vipin Sharma.

President of the Amritsar unit of Hindu Sangarsh Sena Vipin Sharma was shot dead by two unidentified persons near Batala Road here on Monday afternoon.

Fourteen bullets were fired at Vipin at 2.09 pm when he was returning home on his motorcycle after supervising a langar in the area, the police said. The incident has been caught on CCTV camera and one of the shooters had not covered his face.

After firing at Vipin, both the suspects ran from the spot. Two more persons were waiting for them nearby on two motorcycles and they sped away, the police said. Vipin died on the spot.

“We are investigating all angles and a search is on for the four suspects,” said Amritsar Police Commissioner S S Srivastava. “It is not in my knowledge that he (Vipin) had demanded any security cover in the recent past. But, we are checking if he had received any threats recently.”

Vipin was known to organise religious functions in the area. Hindu organisations have called for a bandh in Amritsar on Tuesday in protest of the murder.

Punjab Hindu Shiv Sena leader Chetan Kakkar said: “This is the handiwork of Khalistani terrorists. Vipin had been involved in a run-in with some Sikh hardliners after he burnt an effigy of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a few years ago.”