A 35-year-old woman was shot dead by a man for consuming liquor on the premises of a Gurudwara in Patiala on Sunday evening. The accused, Nirmaljit Singh Saini, has been arrested and his licensed revolver has been seized, police said.
According to reports, Parwinder Kaur was allegedly consuming liquor near the 'sarovar' (holy pond) of Dukhniwaran Sahib gurdwara when Singh shot at her multiple times. The accused later told police that he committed the act in a fit of anger as his “religious sentiments were hurt”.
Police claimed Kaur was undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction. Doctors had noted in the prescription found from her belongings that she had mood swings and depression.
According to police, Saini is a property dealer with no previous criminal records. He told gurdwara officials that he was upset over the incidents of sacrilege, including the recent one at Morinda gurdwara, police said.
A Patiala court has sent him to 14-day judicial custody.
"Saini fired five rounds at the woman with his 32-bore licensed revolver," police said, adding that three bullets hit Kaur and she died on the spot.
SGPC chief alleges conspiracy
Reacting to the incident, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the anti-Sikh forces are targeting Gurdwara Sahib with a deliberate conspiracy, while the government is sitting as a silent spectator.
He said that the woman's act of drinking alcohol inside the Gurudwara complex is a conspiracy and cannot be seen as a random phenomenon.
“If exemplary action is taken against the accused, no one will dare to commit such acts. If the government is serious and fulfills its due responsibilities, then such conspiratorial incidents will not happen," Dhami said.
