Man accused in Bargari sacrilege case shot dead in Faridakot, 3 others injured

Chandigarh: The accused in the controversial Bargari sacrilege case was shot dead in Punjab's Faridkot on Thursday.

Unidentified assailants arriving on bike attacked Pradeep Singh who was on his way to his shop in the morning.

Pradeep Singh is a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda led by self-styled god man Gurmeet Ram Rahim who is in jail after being convicted in rape cases.

Three people including a gunman also got injured after the security personnel of Pradeep Singh opened retaliatory firing, according to a report by India Today.

Faridkot range IG Pradeep Kumar Yadav told the media that Pradeep Singh died and three people got injured after an incident of firing. He added that the security personnel fired back at the assailants.

Bargari sacrilege case erupted in the state after a chain of incidents beginning with the missing of a " saroop" of Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village of Faridkot on June 1, 2015, as per a report in India Today.

Three months after the incident, posters carrying derogatory remarks against the holy book appeared in in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari villages.

Subsequently, several pages of the Guru Granth Sahib was seen strewn in Bargari, leading to protest across the state.

Two people died later on October 14 when the police opened fire on protesters.

The case is still in court which was first probed by the Punjab Police before being taken over by the CBI.

The special investigation team(SIT) set up by the Punjab police blamed the sect Dera Sacha Sauda naming its leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his 11 followers as accused in the sacrilege case.

The three cases of sacrilege are under trial at a Faridkot court, according to the report.