Shiv Sena Punjab leader Sandeep Thapar attacked in Ludhiana, condition serious
Days after security cover reduced, scooter-borne Hindu outfit leader brutally attacked with swords on busy street outside Ludhiana civil hospital by men in nihang attire
A week after his security cover was reduced, Shiv Sena Punjab leader Sandeep Thapar, alias Gora, 58, was brutally attacked by four unidentified men in nihang attire while he was riding his scooter on the busy road outside the Ludhiana civil hospital on Friday afternoon.
The CCTV footage of the incident shows the accused followed Thapar on foot as he exited the hospital with his gunman riding pillion. They confronted him and Thapar was seen begging for mercy with folded hands before one of the attackers started hitting him repeatedly on the head with the sword. The Shiv Sena Punjab leader lost his balance and fell on the road along with the scooter when another nihang continued attacking him with a sword. Commuters looked on in shock, while the first attacker picked up the scooter and drove off with his accomplice.
Thapar’s lone gunman simply walked to the roadside and looked on as a mute spectator. He did not attempt to put up a fight to protect Thapar or make an attempt to chase the attackers.
The attack took place 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, police said.
Eyewitnesses took the seriously injured leader to the civil hospital from where was referred to the local Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.
Deputy commissioner of police Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said that an attempt to murder case has been registered against the unidentified attackers and a search is on for them.
Shiv Sena Punjab 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 Shiv Sena Punjab, 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. Arora alleged that the gunman allowed the accused to flee with ease.
Rajiv Tandon, the chairman of Shiv Sena Punjab, said that the police and the government were not serious about the security of leaders of Hindu organisations. “They have proved this by withdrawing the security cover of our leaders,” he said.
Bittu targets AAP govt for making mockery of law and order
Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu, who was the Ludhiana BJP candidate in the recent Lok Sabha elections, said: “Such a brutal attack on an individual in full public view is condemnable. It has created panic among residents.”
Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state, he said, “Administration is missing from Punjab. They have made a mockery of law and order. Officers are busy pleasing AAP leaders instead of doing their job.”