Protests Continue After RSS Leader Is Shot Dead in Ludhiana

LUDHIANA, Punjab—Following the murder of Rashtiya Swamsewak Sangh leader Ravindra Gosain, Hindu outfits are out to protest and seek arrest of the culprits.  Gosain was was reportedly shot dead in Ludhiana in the morning hours of October 17 by two masked bike riders. The incident occurred at around 07:30 AM outside the house of victim leader in Gagandeep Colony, which falls under jurisdiction of Police station Basti Jodhewal.

As per police investigations, two masked bike riders called the victim leader Ravinder Gosain to look at them and fired at point blank range as soon as the victim paid attention. The victim died on spot and the bike riders ran away.  Police has claimed that the bike used during the murder has been found, however, further details have not been disclosed.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the murder. The Police have taken over the CCTV footage of the area nearby to site of incident. It has come to fore that the assailants were chasing Ravinder Gosain from 06:15 AM but couldn’t target him at his venue of daily practice.

Sikh24 has also learnt that there was a dispute ongoing among the RSS activists over conduction of daily classes for children in Park of concerned area in the evening. The Police have also started probing the case from this perspective.

RSS had supported the Congress in the recently held elections in Punjab.  This move sent shockwaves as RSS has been a supporter of the BJP.  Some RSS members have pointed fingers at the BJP on social media for continued attacks on RSS leaders in Punjab.

The Police have claimed that the fourth attack on the RSS in the past more than one-and-a-half years points to a pattern to single out the Hindu organization. “It is too much of a coincidence, though the police are probing a personal angle to each attack,” a senior officer said. He added that Ravinder Gosain was killed on the day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the state. This means the assailants want to give out a message.

In January 2016, Naresh Kumar, an RSS leader, was injured in an attack in Ludhiana, while an RSS branch in Ludhiana’s Kidwai Nagar came under attack a few days later. In both cases, two motorcycle-borne youths had fired the shots. In August 2016, Brig VK Gagneja (Retd.), vice-president of the RSS Punjab unit, was also gunned down in Jalandhar.