CHANDIGARH: Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti's Punjab unit president Manish Sood alias Bunty, 45, was shot dead by a guard on security duty in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Punjab Police personnel Somnath, whose services were provided to Sood after a 2011 incident, fired 17 shots from his service carbine and then reportedly fled from the spot. He was later arrested.
Sood was in the first floor of his new house at Bank Colony in Sirhind and his driver had gone out, when Somnath shot him at point blank range.
Ramesh Dutt, another leader of the Samiti, said the driver saw Sood lying in a pool of
blood and informed his family members.
Though arrested, police are yet to disclose the reason behind Somnath's brutal act. A case of murder was registered against Somnath under Section 302 of IPC.
Fategarh Sahib Superintendent of Police (City) Daljit Singh Rana said Somnath was being interrogated.
Sources said Sood had three Punjab Police personnel as security guards, but two of
them were not in the house when the incident took place. Sood and Somnath had liquor together before the incident.
Sood's body was sent to the civil hospital for postmortem.
Sood was in the news in November 2011, when he tried to attack former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh murder convict Jagtar Singh Hawara at a district court in Chandigarh.
Hawara and another terrorist Paramjit Singh Bheora were brought here from Tihar Jail for production in the Burail jailbreak case. After the incident, the Punjab Police have been providing security to Sood.
At that time, Sood and three others were booked by the Chandigarh Police on charges of obstructing a public servant from conducting his duty, wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt.
Following Sood's murder, Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Gill, who holds additional charge of Fatehgarh Sahib
SSP, and other senior officers visited the spot.
Sirhind remained tense on Tuesday as leaders and workers of Shiv Sena and Hindu Suraksha Samiti thronged the place.