The dera karseva chief, Baba Tarsem Singh, was rushed to a hospital in Khatima where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment, news agency PTI quoted Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manju Nath as saying.

The assailants were caught on camera. In the CCTV footage shared by PTI the dera chief could be seen sitting on a chair at around 6:30 am in the premises when two bike-borne assailants arrived and fired at him.

"We have clear [CCTV camera] videos of the assailants. They are both Sikhs," Manju Nath said and added that they fled after the incident.

The Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara is a revered Sikh shrine located on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur route in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.

"Two rounds were fired at Singh who was sitting on a chair. The first shot was fired from the front and the other from the back. Singh immediately fell on the ground," the report quoted SSP as saying.

The SSP added that eight police teams have been deployed to apprehend the dera karseva chief's attackers.

Terming the incident "serious", Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar said a special investigation team (SIT) comprising personnel of the Special Task Force and local police has been constituted to look into the incident

He said if there is a conspiracy behind the incident, it will be unravelled, adding that the help of central agencies will also be taken for this.

"we will nab the assailants soon," he added.