Hoshiarpur, India - A religious sect leader was shot dead in Buddon village in Hoshiarpur district early on Sunday. Unidentified persons armed with an AK-47 gun fired at least four shots at 52-year-old Sant Pardhan Singh Buddon, head of Dera Maiyya Das, also known as Kutia Garibdasian, of the ‘Udassi sect’, seriously injuring him, the police said.
A dera follower who had come to prepare morning tea found Sant Pardhan lying in a pool of blood. She raised alarm, but he succumbed to his injuries on way to the civil hospital in Phagwara.
Sant Pardhan originally belonged to Haryana and had come to the village from Haridwar about 17 years ago.
SHO Daljit Khak said it seems an AK-47 rifle was used to shoot the dera head. Four empty bullet shells of AK-47 have been recovered from the spot. “We have not been able to establish the motive yet, but we are probing all angles, including rivalry within the dera,” a police officer said.