An accused in a 2024 murder at a gurdwara in Uttarakhand was caught hours after he escaped from custody when a police vehicle carrying him after his arrest on Tuesday met with an accident near Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar on Wednesday evening.

Senior police superintendent Manikant Mishra said shooter Sarabjit Singh, wanted in the murder of Baba Tarsem Singh, Dera Kar Sewa chief of Nanakmatta of Udham Singh Nagar district, was arrested from Punjab’s Tarn Taran on Tuesday evening. “The police vehicle in which he was being brought here [to Uttarakhand] met with an accident near Kashipur at 9.30pm on Wednesday. “

Mishra said Singh took advantage of the accident and snatched the pistol of sub-inspector Sanjay Kumar and escaped. “A police team chased him and tried to stop him, but he fired on them. In retaliatory firing, he received bullet injuries in both his legs. He was then taken to hospital.” Three policemen were injured in the incident.

Uttarakhand Police had issued a lookout notice, announced a ₹2 lakh reward for Singh’s arrest and attached his property in Punjab. Amarjeet Singh alias Bittu, 38, and Sarbjit Singh, 45, allegedly shot Baba Tarsem Singh dead in Nanakmatta in March 2024. The state government formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate the murder.

Nine people were arrested in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for conspiracy and providing weapons to the assailants.

Bittu was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur in 1991 for allegedly sheltering terrorists and sloganeering in support of Khalistan. He was killed in “an encounter” in Haridwar in April 2024.