Bibi Chand Kaur, the wife of former Namdhari sect chief Satguru Jagjeet Singh, was cremated on Tuesday, a day after the 85-year-old was shot at by two unidentified men on a motorcycle in Ludhiana, reported PTI. She was on the premises of the sect's headquarters when the incident took place. She was taken to hospital, but succumbed to her injuries. The state police has released two sketches of one of the suspects with the help of inputs from eyewitnesses, reported Chandigarh Tribune.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Leader of the Opposition Charnjit Singh Channi, Ludhiana Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and state RSS leader Mool Raj Jain were present during her last rites. Badal has ordered for a Special Investigation Team to look into the case.

Chand Kaur was shot at on her way out of the Namdhari Academy in Bhaini Sahib after meeting the children who study there. According to people who witnessed the crime, two men arrived on a bike and approached Kaur requesting her blessings. After they touched her feet, they opened fire and shot five rounds, inflicting two bullet injuries, one in her forehead and the other in the chest.

Sect supporters believe Singh's nephew Thakur Dalip Singh orchestrated the attack as part of a bitter succession feud. After the former chief's death in 2012, Kaur had supported Dalip's younger brother Uday's claim to the high post, as was her late husband's wish. Followers believe that the decision did not go down well with Dalip, who planned the assault to take revenge, reported The Indian Express.

Supporters on Tuesday held protests in the district demanding the immediate arrest of Dalip Singh. “We all know how and and on whose directions my mother was brutally murdered. Still I request the Namdhari sangat to maintain peace and to not indulge in any violence. Let police investigate and catch the culprits,” said Satguru Uday Singh, the current head of the sect. Kaur is survived by a daughter and a grandson.