Hindu leader shot dead in India’s Sikh holy city

AMRITSAR, India: A radical Hindu leader was shot dead in full public view in India on Friday as he protested the alleged desecration of his faith´s idols, police said.

Sudhir Suri, 58, the self-styled leader of a fundamentalist religious group, Hindu Shiv Sena, was killed in the northern city of Amritsar -- the site of the Sikh faith´s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple.

“The assailant arrived on the spot and shot him dead in full public view,” top police officer Arun Pal Singh told AFP, adding Suri had been shot several times. Suri, who according to local media reports enjoyed police protection, had sparked the anger of many Sikhs who accused him of making derogatory remarks about their faith and community.