Moga, Punjab (June 15, 2014): Suspected of having relations with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI and the head of a “Sufi” dera was shot dead allegedly by two unidentified assailants at Khukhrana village near Moga.
32-year-old Parasmani Soni, head of the sect ‘Dera Baba Farid’, was shot dead last night while he was meeting his followers in the Dera.
The two assailants entered his room on Dera premises and fired at him from close range before fleeing on a motorcycle, police said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Parasmani did not enjoy good relations with the villagers and people of nearby villages as he was suspected to have developed “illicit relations” with a woman, said Senior Superintendent of Police Gursharan Singh Sandhu.
He constructed his Dera on a two-acre land given by the people of Khukhrana village some five years back and his followers had multiplied in the last few years, police said. Renowned Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann, Nooran-Jyoti Sultana and some other Sufi singers used to perform at the Dera during functions at the Dera.