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17 booked for Dera Bassi hospital clash; AAP, Congress trade barbs
Eight accused arrested by Dera Bassi police on the complaint of AAP sarpanch’s husband, who remains under treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh
A day after two rival groups turned the Dera Bassi civil hospital into a bloody battleground, police have now booked a total of 17 persons in connection with the violence that stemmed from an old rivalry dating back to last year’s Panchayat elections.
Of the total accused, eight have already been arrested — Anil Kumar, alias Honey Pandit, Naresh Kumar, Naib Ram, Angrej Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Mahipal and Manish Kumar.
The others named in the FIR include Karampal, Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Amar Singh, Mohit, Gurpreet Singh, Gurjant, Mayank and Sanjeev Kumar, all residents of Mukandpur village.
Police registered an attempt to murder case based on the complaint of Ranjit Singh, alias Minta, husband of village sarpanch Suman Devi, who is from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Minta.He suffered serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
According to the FIR, Minta, aged 34, said he was at home on Friday night when he received a call from one Gaurav, alleging that the accused were hurling abuses at the village panchayat. Minta, along with Gurmeet Singh Panch, Gurjeet Singh and Parwinder Singh, went to confront them.
“As we reached the spot around 10 pm, Honey Pandit and his men attacked us with rods,” the complaint stated.
“Later, when we reached the Dera Bassi civil hospital for treatment, the accused were already there along with Udayvir Singh Dhillon, son of Dera Bassi Congress president Deepinder Singh Dhillon. Pandit and his accomplices attacked us again with queue managers, surgical scissors and even fire extinguishers,” Minta alleged.
Police said all individuals seen in a video of the hospital clash had been nominated in the case. Six of the accused were produced in court on Sunday and sent to three-day police custody.
All accused have been booked under Sections 109, 115 (2), 118 (1), 117 (2), 126 (2), 351 (3), 191 (3), 190 and 61 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Dera Bassi police station.
Politics erupts over violence
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the hospital clash, political allegations began flying thick and fast.
Udayvir Singh Dhillon, who claimed his driver locked him in a room to save his life during the attack, alleged police bias, stating that only Congress workers were arrested.
“Minta has over 10 criminal cases against him and is shielded by the local AAP MLA. We’ve been organising kabaddi tournaments for years, but Minta and the authorities tried to block us. We then got permission from the high court to go ahead. Ever since, they have held a grudge which heightened further during panchayat elections,” Udayvir said.
“We have also lodged several complaints regarding illegal sand mining in the area. This triggered Minta and his men to attack Pandit and other Congress workers in the village and in the hospital on Friday,” Udayvir claimed.
The local administration, however, released a letter from the mining department denying any illegal sand mining activity.
Dera Bassi AAP MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa visited Minta and other injured AAP supporters on Sunday, but remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.
