Namdhari sect matriarch cremated

BHIM SAHIB: The headquarters of the Namdhari sect continued to remain tense through the day as a sea of devotees in the traditional white attire gathered here on Tuesday for the last rites of Mata Chand Kaur the 88yearold widow of former sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh

Updated At : 06:47 AM Apr 06, 2016 IST

Poignant scenes were witnessed as followers paid tributes to Namdhari sect matriarch Mata Chand Kaur during her cremation at Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana district on Tuesday. Tribune photos: Himanshu Mahajan

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Bhaini Sahib, April 5

The headquarters of the Namdhari sect continued to remain tense through the day as a sea of devotees — in the traditional white attire — gathered here on Tuesday for the last rites of Mata Chand Kaur, the 88-year-old widow of former sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh.

The matriarch was shot at by two motorcycle-borne assailants on the premises yesterday and succumbed to her injuries in a Ludhiana hospital.

The police today released two sketches of one of the suspects — turbaned man with a flowing beard — even as the lone witness, golf cart driver Kartar Singh, continued to be in a state of shock and refused to say a thing.

ADGP Gurdev Singh Sahota, Commissioner of Police Jatinder Singh Aulakh and DCP Dhruman Nimble recreated the crime scene, even as the police managed to trace 13 mobiles phones operating near the spot where the shooting took place.

Meanwhile, Namdhari sect head Thakur Uday Singh urged his followers to maintain peace. Mata Chand Kaur had played a key role in choosing Uday Singh, her late husband’s nephew, over his brother Thakur Dalip Singh as the successor. This had not gone down well with Dalip Singh and the supporters of the brothers were even involved in a clash.

Thakur Uday Singh’s appeal followed last night’s incident in which the houses of Thakur Dalip Singh’s followers were vandalised.

The cremation site saw some Namdhari followers of Uday Singh sporting kurtas with “we want justice” inscribed.

Sensing resentment among the Namdharis, majority of the SAD leaders preferred to skip the cremation ceremony. Even Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal reached the venue just moments before the ceremony commenced. Except MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, no senior Akali leader accompanied Badal. The CM termed the incident unfortunate and slammed the Congress and AAP for politicising it. He said an SIT had been formed and the case will be cracked soon.

He condemned Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu for seeking Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal’s resignation on the ground that the law and order situation in the state had failed.