3 arrested in the murder of Dera follower 2015 Bargari sacrilege accused in Punjab

The arrested, including two juveniles, are suspected to have shot down Kataria (38) on Thursday.

The accused were nabbed after Delhi Police raided the Bakshiwala area, about 30 km from Patiala city, around 3 am in the morning following an intelligence input, India Today reported.

Six assailants sprayed 55 bullets at Kataria while he was opening his dairy shop in Faridkot's Kotkapura, police said.

While Kataria was killed in the attack, his security guard and another person sustained bullet injuries, said the report.

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar has claimed responsibility for the murder in a social media post.

Goldy Brar belongs to the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate that purportedly carried out the killing of Punjabi rapper and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala in May 2022.

Of the six suspected shooters of Kataria, three have been arrested.

Police said that all the six shooters involved in the murder had been identified. Four shooters are from Haryana and two are from Punjab, the report said.

Three pistols and several live rounds of ammunition were recovered from the three accused.

Pradeep Kataria was out on bail in the case of stealing a Guru Granth Sahib copy from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot in June 2015. He allegedly also tore the pages of the Sikh holy book later found scattered in Bargari.