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ASI returning home after duty survives ambush in Punjab’s Ajnala
Motorcycle-borne men open fire, cop stable, fourth targeted attack on Punjab Police personnel this year
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In the fourth targeted strike on Punjab Police personnel this year, motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) while he was on his way back home from duty in Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar district, officials said on Monday.
Sukhchain Singh, posted in Government Railway Police (GRP) in Amritsar, sustained a bullet injury to his left arm in the attack that took place around 8 pm on Sunday evening. Singh is stable and undergoing treatment at the Ajnala civil hospital.
The incident comes barely two weeks after ASI Harjit Singh, 45, was ambushed and shot dead around midnight on September 18 while on patrol duty outside Gate No. 2 of the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar city.
Earlier in May, ASI Joga Singh was gunned down near Majitha. In February, ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard constable Ashok Kumar were killed in an attack at the Adhian police post near the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur district.
According to police, as the ASI reached his native village, Jagdev Khurd, two assailants trailing him on a bike closed in and opened fire before speeding away. “I was returning home after duty when attackers came from behind and opened fire at me,” the ASI said.
Special director general of police (law and order) Praveen Kumar Sinha visited the crime scene along with inspector general of police (border range) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and Amritsar senior superintendent of police (rural) Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal. Sinha also met the injured cop. “The factual position established so far is that our ASI was returning after completing his duty when he came under fire. Two youths on a motorcycle had been trailing him,” Sinha told reporters. “The bullet passed through the muscles of his arm. It is a serious injury, though not life-threatening. He is safe.”
The special DGP said the investigation is currently underway. “Specialised teams have been formed and we are examining every aspect in detail,” he added.
