Dehradun/Rudrapur, 28 March

The dera karseva chief of the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara in Uttarakhand was shot dead within the premises of the shrine by two motorcycle-borne assailants early on Thursday, police said.

Baba Tarsem Singh was rushed to a hospital in Khatima where he died during treatment, Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manju Nath said.  "We have clear (CCTV camera) videos of the assailants. They are both Sikhs," he said and added that they fled after the incident.

The Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara is a revered Sikh shrine located on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur route in Udham Singh Nagar district of the state.

In CCTV camera footage, the assailants were seen entering the gurdwara on a motorcycle around 6:15am and shooting at Singh with a rifle, Nath said and added that the shooter was riding pillion. "Two rounds were fired at Singh who was sitting on a chair. The first shot was fired from the front and the other from the back. Singh immediately fell on the ground," the SSP said.

Eight police teams have been mobilised to apprehend the dera karseva chief's attackers, he said.

Terming the incident "serious", Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar said a special investigation team (SIT) comprising personnel of the Special Task Force and local police has been constituted to look into the incident. "If there is a conspiracy behind the incident, it will be unravelled. The help of central agencies will also be taken for this," he said and added that "we will nab the assailants soon".