Father of sacrilege accused shot dead in Bathinda district; assailants presently unidentified, say police

Bathinda: A Dera Sacha Sauda follower and the father of an accused in a sacrilege incident was shot dead by two unidentified assailants on Friday, police said. Manohar Lal (53) was killed inside his shop at Bhagta Bhai Ka village in the district, they said. Bullets were fired from a close range by the assailants who had their faces covered with a mask. The incident was captured on the CCTV cameras installed at the shop, they said. The motive behind the killing is not loot since the assailants did not take away anything from the victim’s money exchange shop, they said. Lal’s son Jatinder, an accused in a sacrilege case registered five years ago, is currently out on bail, police said.