Amarjit Singh alias Bittu, a shooter and the main accused in the murder case of Nanakmatta Gurdwara’s ‘karseva’ chief Baba Tarsem Singh, was killed in an encounter with the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) in the Bhagwanpur area of Haridwar in the early hours of Tuesday, news agency ANI reported citing the state’s top police officer.

Amarjit Singh, a shooter with ₹1 lakh bounty on his head, was killed while his accomplice fled, Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar told the news agency. The Uttarakhand Special Task Force and Haridwar Police have launched a joint operation to trace the absconding accused, the top cop said.

The police said over 16 cases have been registered against Amarjeet Singh.

Baba Tarsem Singh’s murder

Nanakmatta Gurdwara’s ‘karseva’ chief Baba Tarsem Singh was shot dead on March 28 by two bike-borne assailants at the Nanakmatta Gurdwara in Udham Singh Nagar. Days after the murder, an FIR was registered at the Nanakmatta police station against Harbansh Singh Chugh, a former IAS officer, and two others, identified as Pritam Singh and Baba Anoop Singh.

A sevadar of the karseva, Jasbir Singh, alleged that Chugh, along with the two others named in the FIR, conspired to kill Tarsem Singh. He also claimed the involvement of others in the alleged murder plot, ANI reported.

The state police said earlier that they were carrying out a thorough probe into the killing and raiding places in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in search of the other accused.

Additionally, three more suspects were apprehended in connection with the case. According to police, they were allegedly involved in orchestrating the crime by recruiting criminals, providing resources, and supplying weapons.

DGP Kumar said the Uttarakhand Police viewed Baba’s murder as a challenge, with both the STF and police actively pursuing the culprits.

Furthermore, the DGP emphasised that the police would take stringent action against criminals committing such atrocious acts in Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been closely monitoring developments since the murder of Tarsem Singh and has instructed the police to apprehend the suspects promptly.