The double killing outside the Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur Ji in Covo has left a well-established local community in shock. A suspect, described as a regular worshipper at the Sikh temple, remained at large as investigators worked to establish a motive.
Two Indian nationals were shot dead late on Friday evening outside a Sikh temple in the small Lombard town of Covo, in the province of Bergamo. Investigators are treating it as a targeted attack carried out just hours before one of the Sikh community’s most important annual festivals.
The shooting took place at approximately 23:50 in Via Campo Rampino, an industrial street in Covo where a converted warehouse has served for years as the Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur J. The victims, Rajinder Singh, 47, a resident of Covo and father of three children, and Gurmit Singh, 48, who lived in Agnadello and was the father of two, were struck as they emerged from the building. Both men died at the scene. Emergency services arrived with two ambulances and two medical vehicles, but could do nothing for either victim.
Investigators recovered dozens of shell casings from the ground outside the temple. Witnesses reported that the gunman fired approximately ten shots with the victims struck in the head and body. A third person sustained a grazing wound to the ear but survived.
How the attack unfolded
Witness accounts, reported by Italian media, describe a deeply disturbing sequence of events. According to one person present, the attacker arrived at the temple, stopped at the entrance and knelt down as if in prayer, before rising, stepping back, drawing a pistol and opening fire. He then fled the scene. Witnesses described him leaving in a white BMW.
According to those present, the gunman was a fellow Indian national and a regular at the temple. Investigators are working to establish what personal or internal dispute may have driven it. Early indications suggest that Rajinder Singh, the former president of the Gurdwara association and proprietor of the temple’s food shop, may have been the primary target. Investigators note that he had been involved in past disagreements with an individual over the management of the religious centre. Gurmit Singh, it is believed, was caught in the line of fire.
The investigation is being led by the Carabinieri’s investigative unit in Bergamo and the Treviglio company, coordinated by the Bergamo Prosecutor’s Office. CCTV footage from cameras inside the converted warehouse is being examined and may prove significant. The bodies of both victims have been transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Pavia for post-mortem examination.
