A 50-year-old man, who happens to be the president of Jharkhand Sikh Pratinidhi Board, was shot at and injured by six unidentified men on bikes near a gurdwara under Sitaramdera police station on Saturday morning.

Gurucharan Singh Billa, who sustained three bullet injuries in his shoulder, left hand and the left earlobe, had to undergo surgery at Tata Main Hospital. He was said to be out of danger.

Billa, a resident of 10 Number Basti in Sidhgora, was on his way to Baba Deep Singh Gurdwara in Sitaramdera along with his wife Gurpreet Kaur when they were intercepted by six men on three bikes around 4.45am.

“As soon as the couple crossed Sitaramdera police station, the bike-borne men surrounded the couple and started raining blows on Billa. In the scuffle that ensued, a pistol belonging to one of the attackers fell. Apprehending danger, Billa and his wife ran in opposite directions. The men chased Billa and fired three bullets at him,” Satbir Singh, a close acquaintance of the victim, said.

Singh said the gun attack sparked a commotion on the road. Local residents rushed a bleeding Billa to Tata Main Hospital.

The news spread like wildfire, leading senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anoop Birtharay and SP (city) Subhash Chandra Jat to rush to the incident spot and the hospital.

A large number of people belonging to the Sikh community also thronged the hospital within an hour of the incident.

Police, who are yet to establish the reason behind the gun attack, are waiting for Billa to give a statement.

“The reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained. We are trying to detect the identity of the attackers by procuring footage from CCTV cameras. We are also checking the call detail record of the victim,” Jat said.