Ludhiana pastor murder: No trace of killers; Amarinder orders crackdown on elements trying to whip up communal passions

Chief minister's orders came after 20 hours when Sultan Masih was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants at Salem Tabri locality of Ludhiana.

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Ludhiana pastor murder: No trace of killers; Amarinder orders crackdown on elements trying to whip up communal passions
Pastor Sultan Masih

In Short

  • No trace of Ludhiana pastor Sultan Masih's killers.
  • Punjab Police got 'crackdown' orders from the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
  • The pastor was shot outside a church when he was talking to someone on his mobile phone.

Having failed to trace Ludhiana pastor Sultan Masih's killers, the Punjab Police on Sunday got 'crackdown' orders from the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Chief minister's orders came after 20 hours when Sultan Masih was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants at Salem Tabri locality of Ludhiana. The police is clueless about the armed killers who were wearing masks when they shot the pastor from a close range. The incident took place outside a church when the pastor was talking to someone on his mobile phone.

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"Taking a serious view of the killing, Captain Amarinder Singh has directed the DGP Suresh Arora to order a police crackdown on elements trying to whip up communal passions in the state by indulging in such attacks and to remain on high alert against such forces," a Punjab government spokesperson said on Sunday.

The chief minister has also directed DGP to ensure that the various departments of the police and intelligence in the state liaison and coordinate with one another to gather advance intelligence to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the spokesperson said.

Given the sensitivity of the condemnable incident in which pastor Sultan Masih was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants, the Chief Minister has asked the police department to keep close tabs on the situation to prevent any negative fallout. He has also directed the DGP to ask the field officers to coordinate with the local Christian leaders for support in defusing the situation resulting from the killing.

Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered the DGP to take all possible steps to ensure that necessary preventive and precautionary steps are taken to maintain law and order, as well as peace and harmony in the state. Attempts to vitiate the state's environment would not be tolerated at any cost, Captain Amarinder said, warning of strict action against any police officer found guilty of dereliction of duty in this regard.

Captain Amarinder Singh has already taken up with the Prime Minister the matter of expediting CBI probe into cases of other targeted killings, including of RSS, Hindu and Shiv Sena leaders, that had been taking place in Punjab since January 2016. During his meeting with the prime minister in Delhi on July 11, Captain Amarinder noted that despite their best efforts, the central and state police and intelligence agencies had failed to make a breakthrough.

Captain had requested the Prime Minister that central intelligence and investigation agencies be instructed to augment their efforts to trace these cases.

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