Patiala ASI, whose hand was chopped off by a group of armed Nihangs earlier today, April 12 is undergoing a surgical operation at Chandigarh PGI, said Dinkar Gupta, Director General of Police, Punjab. Taking to Twitter, the Punjab police DGP thanked PGI and shared the news that two senior surgeons have been tasked to perform the surgery on the ASI's hand.
"Grateful to PGI for full support. Director PGI tells me that surgery has already started by 2 senior surgeons who will do their best. All of us praying to Waheguru for his full recovery!" he wrote.
The incident
Earlier in the morning, a group of armed Nihangs attacked a police party near a vegetable market in Patiala on being asked to stop their vehicle and show curfew pass. In the attack, the ASI Harjeet Singh's hand was chopped off and two other police officers sustained serious injuries.
"In an unfortunate incident today morning, a group of Nihangs injured a few Police officers and a Mandi Board official at Sabzi Mandi, Patiala. ASI Harjeet Singh whose hand got cut-off has reached PGI Chandigarh," the DGP said.
"They were asked to show the curfew pass. They got angered and in retaliation, they attacked police personnel and government employees deployed there with sharp-edged weapons," a police official said.
11 people arrested, weapons, Rs 39 lakh recovered
Eleven people, including a woman, have been arrested at Balbera Gurdwara in Sanaur tehsil of Patiala district in connection with the attack, said KBS Sidhu, Special Chief Secretary, Punjab. The police have also recovered Rs 39 lakh recovered in cash and a huge cache of unlicensed weapons from their possession.
Those arrested by the police have been identified as Bant Singh, Jagmeet Singh, Balwinder Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Nanna, Jangir Singh, Maninder Singh, Jaswant Singh, Darshan Singh, Nirbhai Singh and Sukhpreet Kaur. Nirbhai Singh has also sustained bullet injuries during the attack, KBS Sindhu said.
