Patiala, July 15 -- A 45-year-old man, accused in a 2020 sacrilege case and who was released on bail recently, was allegedly hacked to death with a sharp-edged weapon, police said on Tuesday. Mewa Singh was killed by an unidentified assailant at his home in Ladpur Tooran village near Mandi Gobindgarh of Fatehgarh Sahib district at midnight, they said. This is the first killing of a sacrilege accused after the Punjab government notified the new stringent law in April this year prescribing stringent punishment, including life imprisonment, for acts of sacrilege. The victim was at home with his family when the assailant allegedly scaled the boundary wall, entered the house, and attacked him, police said. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot. After carrying out the attack, the assailant managed to flee the scene, police added. Earlier, preliminary reports suggested that man was beheaded during the assault. Later, Fatehgarh Sahib senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shubham Aggarwal said the deceased sustained multiple deep injuries from the sharp-edged weapon and was not beheaded. According to police, all possible motives, including financial transactions and personal enmity, are being examined. Upon receiving information about the incident, police officials reached the scene and began an investigation. A forensic team also visited the spot to collect evidence. The body was taken into custody and shifted to the civil hospital mortuary for autopsy, the SSP added. Police have launched a manhunt to trace the accused and are investigating the motive behind the murder, he said. According to the police, Mewa Singh was an accused in the sacrilege incident that occurred at a gurdwara in Ladpur Tooran village. He had recently secured bail in the case and had resumed work as a daily-wager, they added. Before the enactment of the new law, Punjab had witnessed several incidents in which people accused of sacrilege were attacked before their trials could be completed....