Mohinder Pal Bittu, main conspirator in Bargari sacrilege case, murdered in Patiala

Patiala, June 22: Dera follower Mohinder Pal Singh Bittoo, who was the prime accused in the Bargari sacrilege case, was murdered on Saturday in Patiala's Nabha jail, where he was lodged.

He was attacked by the two inmates at the Nabha jail at around 5 pm. After the attack, Bittoo was taken to a hospital in a serious condition where he was declared brought dead, reported India Today.

Following the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered an inquiry and warned of stringent action against the accused.

Mohinder Pal Bittu, a state committee member of Dera Sacha Sauda, was nabbed from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh on June 7. He was on the run since August 2017 following the conviction of dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The sacrilege incident had triggered a statewide outrage after a 'bir' (copy of Guru Granth Sahib) was stolen from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 1, 2015. On October 12, 2015, torn pages of the 'bir' were found scattered in front of a gurdwara at Bargari village.

In June 2016, there were massive protests after an unidentified man gunned down Gurdev Singh, a dera follower, at his grocery shop at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village of Faridkot.