Right wing leader attacked by 3 in ‘nihang’ attire, 2 held

A week after his security cover was curtailed, Shiv Sena Punjab leader Sandeep Thapar, alias Gora, 58, was brutally attacked by three unidentified men in ‘nihang’ attire on the busy road outside the Ludhiana civil hospital on Friday afternoon. Two of the assassins have been arrested while a hunt is on for the third one, police said.

Thapar’s son called it a conspiracy as he was very vocal against hardliners and had been uploading social media posts against them. He had been receiving threats for the past few days.

The division number 2 police station and the civil hospital’s police post are only 50 metres away from the crime spot. CCTV footage of the incident showed the accused following Thapar on foot as he exited the hospital on a scooter with his gunman riding pillion. After the assailants confronted him, Thapar was seen begging for mercy before one of the attackers started hitting him repeatedly on his head with a sword. The Shiv Sena Punjab leader fell on the road along with his scooter when another ‘nihang’ continued attacking him using his sword. Commuters looked on in shock while the first attacker picked up the scooter and drove off with his accomplices.

The third aide of the assailants took Thapar’s lone gunman to the roadside. The gunman reportedly looked on as a mute spectator. After the CCTV footage of the incident surfaced, an inquiry was marked against the 57-year-old gunman, who claimed that he was dragged towards the roadside and an unsuccessful attempt was made to snatch his service revolver.

Eyewitnesses took the seriously injured leader to the civil hospital from where he was referred to the local Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. The attack took place at around 11.40 am after Thapar left the office of Samvedna Trust, an NGO, near the civil hospital where he attended a ceremony to mark the fourth death anniversary of the trust’s founder-president, Ravinder Arora, the police said.

Later in the evening, commissioner of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said two of the accused — Sarabjit Singh alias Saba, 34, of Mohalla Company Bagh, Tibba road, and Harjot Singh alias Jota, 30, of Bhamian — were arrested while a manhunt was on their aide Tehal Singh of Amritsar. He said the accused nihangs claim that they belong to the Baba Buddha Dal. Chahal said their mobile phones were sent for a forensic investigation to discover the motive behind the attack. The police are trying to figure out if there are more people involved in the attack. An inquiry is being conducted to find out why the gunman did not resist, the police commissioner said.

Replying to a query, he refuted the allegations of withdrawing the security of Hindu outfit leaders. He also claimed that the condition of the Shiv Sena leader is stable.

Fatehgarh SSP Ravjot Kaur said the arrests were made in Fatehgarh Sahib after getting inputs from the Ludhiana police. The accused were roaming around Guru Granth Sahib University when they were caught.

An FIR under Sections 109, 3 (5), 115 (2), 304 and 132 of the BNS has been lodged against the accused at the division number 2 police station.

Leaders protest withdrawal of security

Soon after the incident, Shiv Sena Punjab leaders gathered outside the civil hospital and raised slogans against the Punjab government and the police. Sumit Arora, the youth wing president of the organisation, said Thapar had been provided three gunmen but the police withdrew his security cover a week ago. Later, the services of a gunman were restored.

Rajiv Tandon, the chairman of Shiv Sena Punjab, said the police and the government were not serious about the security of leaders of Hindu organisations.

Bittu, Harsimrat, Warring target AAP government

Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu said the AAP government had made a mockery of law and order. Officers are busy pleasing AAP leaders instead of doing their job, he said.

Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal posted the CCTV footage on her ‘X’ handle, stating that the manner in which such violent attacks are being conducted in broad daylight in busy areas indicates a total collapse of the law-and-order situation in Punjab. Anil Sareen, general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab, said gangster culture has engulfed the entire state under the AAP regime. Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said there was an atmosphere of fear in the city due to the “lawlessness”.