DEHRADUN: The accused who murdered Nanakmatta Gurdwara Kar Sewa chief Baba Tarsem Singh on March 28 were hired for Rs 10 lakhs to pull the trigger, the Uttarakhand Police said on Friday.

According to the Udham Singh Nagar police, the two assailants Sarabjeet Singh and Amarjeet Singh were paid Rs 5 lakh in advance.

"A contract of Rs 10 lakh was given to kill Baba, the sharpshooters Sarabjeet Singh and Amarjeet Singh who carried out the murder had taken Rs 5 lakh in advance," the police said.

Tarsem Singh was shot dead by two men on the premises of the shrine in Uttarakhand's Nanakmatta town on March 28.

According to the police, the incident took place at around 6.15 am when two of the accused arrived on a motorcycle and the one riding pillion opened fire at him using a rifle.

The police have arrested four people in connection with the case.

Senior Superintendent of Police of Udham Singh Nagar, Manjunath TC said that the police have arrested four people from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, who later revealed information regarding the case.

The four persons Dilbagh Singh and Harminder Singh of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Balkar Singh and Amandeep Singh of Pilibhit were arrested for giving shelter to the murderers, providing weapons and being involved in the conspiracy of murder.

According to the Udham Singh Nagar police the arrested accused had helped in the Nanakmatta massacre by providing two cars. More than a dozen cases are registered against the accused in various states.

The police officials further said that a special investigation team (SIT) was formed after the murder identified the two assassins on a motorcycle after scanning CCTV camera footage as Sarbjeet Singh, a resident of Taran Taran and Amarjeet Singh alias Bittoo alias Ganda, a resident of Kammo in Amritsar.

The reward amount on the two absconding accused (shooters) was increased from 25 thousand to 50 thousand.