Punjab on alert after Dera man accused of sacrilege killed in Patiala jail

A follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect accused in a case of sacrilege was killed on Saturday by two Sikh inmates of the Nabha maximum security jail in Patiala where he had been imprisoned, the police said.

Mohinderpal Bittu, a state committee member of the Dera Sacha Sauda, was murdered by Mohinder Singh and Gursewak Singh, who used a sharpened iron rod and a brick to attack him when he emerged from his barrack in the jail, the police said.He was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The police registered a first information report against the two inmates and sounded a security alert in areas where the Dera wields influence, concerned over the possibility of violent protests.