Hoshiarpur, Feb. 8 -- Armed assailants on Saturday gunned down a retired Punjab Police assistant sub-inspector's wife while she was returning home after paying obeisance at a shrine at Mehandwani village in Hoshiarpur district, police said. The incident comes in less than 24 hours of gruesome killing of AAP leader Satwinderpal Singh, alias Lucky Oberoi in Jalandhar's posh Model Town area on Friday. The fifth such killing in the state since January triggered a sharp reaction from the Opposition that attacked the government over the "deteriorating" law and order situation. The Hoshiarpur victim has been identified as Rachna Devi, 60. Her husband Sham Lal had retired from the force three years ago, said police. "The assailants fired three shots at Rachna Devi around 5.30 am when she was returning home from a nearby shrine," said a police official. "Hearing gunshots, people rushed out of their homes to find the woman critically injured. They took her to a nearby hospital but she succumbed to her injuries," he added. Garhshankar deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Daljit Singh Khakh said the incident occurred at dawn when the visibility was very low. "The police are scanning the CCTV footage to trace the attackers," he added. The DSP said that in the preliminary investigation, no gangster or terrorist angle has emerged. "We have registered an FIR against unknown persons," he added. The family revealed that Rachna used to go to the shrine every day. They suspect that shooters must have conducted a recce before targeting her on Saturday. They said they had no enmity with anyone. Targeting the AAP government, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said: "It's not even 24 hours and another sensational killing has rocked the state. Punjab is bleeding. Sacred places, innocent elders and even ruling party leaders are not safe. Punjab Police's war on gangsters has failed. Bhagwant Mann must resign before more lives are lost," he wrote on 'X'. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also condemned the incident and said the police have miserably failed to curb rising gangsterism in the state. "The AAP hides behind its hoardings and advertisements, leaving Punjabis to fend for themselves", he posted on 'X'....