Two motorcycle-borne men shot Amit Sharma, 35, district publicity manager of an organisation called Sri Hindu Takht, near Jagraon Bridge in Ludhiana around 9pm on Saturday.
Sharma, who had joined the organisation two months ago, had come to meet a friend at a flower shop near a temple. He was about to get back into his car when the two attackers fired four shots, killing him on the spot; and escaped. The body was later taken to the local civil hospital.
Senior police officials, including commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulkah, reached the spot and started investigations.
Raman Sood, a resident of the locality where the car was parked, said the gunshots were not heard. “Maybe a silencer was installed on the pistol. I was sitting at home when I heard police sirens and came out,” he told HT.
“Four bullets hit Sharma and he died on the spot. The killers used a 7.65-bore pistol,” said Aulakh. Police also suspect that two more men on a bike were tailing the killers. No motive was yet established.
“He was receiving regular threats from Khalistani militants through phone,” claimed Rohit Sahni, state publicity manager of the organisation. “To seek security, he also met the director general of police (DGP), who had asked him to meet police commissioner Aulakh,” he added, blaming the death on “negligence” of the Ludhiana police.
Sharma, who was an exporter of machine tools for hosiery industry, is survived by his wife and a five-year-old son.
Hindustan Times
