Avtar Singh Tari Namdhari Murder Case Cbi Suspect Sketch Rs 2 Lakh Reward

More than 15 years after the murder of Namdhari sect follower Avtar Singh Tari, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday released a sketch of one of the suspected assailants and announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for information leading to the identification and arrest of those involved in the case.

According to the CBI, Tari, 57, was shot dead on April 12, 2011, on the Katani Kalan–Chandigarh Main Road in Ludhiana district, when two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire with an AK-47. The attackers reportedly fired more than 10 rounds before fleeing the scene.

The case was transferred to the CBI on January 9, 2017. As part of its ongoing investigation, the agency has now issued the sketch of a person believed to be one of the shooters. The CBI’s Special Crime Branch said the identity of informants would be kept confidential.

Tari, who lived in Mohali, was travelling to Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana district on April 12, 2011, in his Toyota Corolla when he suspected he was being followed. Around 11 am, he stopped at a relative’s shop in Katani Kalan to drink water. As he stepped out of the shop, two armed men opened fire, killing him on the spot.

The Namdhari sect is headquartered at Bhaini Sahib and is currently headed by Satguru Uday Singh. Tari’s family had migrated after the Partition and settled in a village in Haryana. The family reportedly owned around six acres of land. According to accounts within the sect, Tari, a devoted follower, donated all his land to a poor disciple at the direction of the then Namdhari chief Satguru Jagjit Singh.

This sacrifice is said to have earned him Satguru Jagjit Singh’s confidence, after which Tari rose to become one of his closest associates. Over the years, he established himself in Mohali and became involved in farming and real estate. He also remained a frequent visitor to Bhaini Sahib.

He was considered particularly close to Sant Jagtar Singh, the son-in-law of Satguru Jagjit Singh, and was regarded as an influential figure within the Namdhari community.

At the time of the murder, the Punjab Police linked the killing to a succession dispute within the over 200-year-old Namdhari sect, as Satguru Jagjit Singh had no son. A case was registered at the Sahnewal police station against Thakur Dalip Singh and two unidentified persons on the complaint of Tari’s brother-in-law, Balwant Singh.

Investigations had also revealed that Tari had survived at least two earlier attacks, with cases registered in Mohali.

Satguru Jagjit Singh died at the age of 92 on December 13, 2012, after a prolonged illness. Ten days after his death, his nephew, Thakur Uday Singh, was installed as the head of the Namdhari sect at Bhaini Sahib. Thakur Uday Singh’s brother, Dalip Singh, later became the head of a rival breakaway faction based in Sirsa, Haryana.

On April 3, 2016, Mata Chand Kaur, Satguru Jagjit Singh’s wife, was shot dead within the Bhaini Sahib complex at the age of 88. A separate CBI investigation in this case is still on. Dalip Singh was declared a proclaimed offender in this case in April this year.