Widow of Namdhari sect ex-head shot in Punjab

The widow of a former head of the Namdhari sect was killed when unidentified assailants fired at her from close range here on Monday, police said.

Chand Kaur Namdhari, 88, was rushed in a critical condition to a private hospital in this industrial city of Punjab where she was pronounced dead, doctors said.

Police said one bullet hit her in the head and another in the stomach.

Chand Kaur was widow of late sect head Jagjit Singh and the mother of present Namdhari sect chief Uday Singh.

She had arrived at the Bhaini Sahib gurdwara here for a function when she was shot at by two motorcycle-borne assailants.

"The assailants fired five shots from a revolver from close range and fled. Two bullets hit her," a police official investigating the crime said.

Chand Kaur had appointed Uday Singh as head of the sect in 2012 after the death of her husband, ignoring opposition from her elder son Dalip Singh.

The Namdharis are a sect of the Sikh religion but follow their own tenets. Namdhari Sikhs are conspicuous by their white robes as well as white turbans tied in a distinct style.