Director general of school education Kahan Singh Pannu has said that the attack on him at Gobind Ghat on his flood-rescue mission to Uttarakhand was pre-planned, as the assailants had sought him out.
"See the footage again. It speaks itself that it was pre-planned. They came and identified me, and then started beating me up without listening to me," said Pannu, adding that the film would also make it clear that the man shooting it had set his mobile-phone camera at ready before and chased him for more than 200 yards to capture the pictures.
"He was aware (of what he was shooting), he kept focusing on me, not on any assailant," Pannu said here on Wednesday. "Around noon that day, I had reached Gobind Ghat and listened to taxi drivers, who had asked me for security, as it would take some days to open the road and inform their families. I did the same and the drivers thanked me and asked me to have photographs with them," he said.
"After that, I approached a particular group and asked it: 'Khalsa ji, kiwe je (Devouts, how are you?).' They identified me and, without any provocation, launched into an attack, though I tried to clarify that I had not uttered a word to hurt anyone. Ask other officials who were with me at Gobind Gath if I had said anything objectionable. It (the attack) was pre-planned and unprovoked," said Pannu.
{{/usCountry}}"After that, I approached a particular group and asked it: 'Khalsa ji, kiwe je (Devouts, how are you?).' They identified me and, without any provocation, launched into an attack, though I tried to clarify that I had not uttered a word to hurt anyone. Ask other officials who were with me at Gobind Gath if I had said anything objectionable. It (the attack) was pre-planned and unprovoked," said Pannu.
{{/usCountry}}The officer tied his turban again and was back at the spot after half an hour. "My priority was not to search the assailants but to save more than 450 people stranded for the past nine days, as there was forecast of heavy rain in the next two days. That time, they all thanked me and the Punjab government for providing them with food and shifting them to base camps," he said, confirming that the attackers had also tried to spread rumours that he had hurt their religious sentiments.