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Three Nihangs assault cigarette traders, target ‘rescuer’ in Kharar
Attack unidentified man, who stepped in to save shopkeepers, with swords in full public view near the busy Kharar bus stand
Kharar police on Saturday booked three men dressed as Nihangs for attacking a man with swords afterhe tried to stop them from assaulting shopkeepers selling cigarettes near the busy Kharar bus stand.
The brazen, violent attack in broad daylight in the bustling street was witnessed by bystanders and passing commuters, but no one intervened.
Notably, this is the second incident involving a sword attack by Nihangs in the past 48 hours.
Acting swiftly, Kharar police identified the accused within a few hours of the incident as Gurwinder Singh and Amanjot Singh, both residents of Khooni Majra, and Jaspreet Singh of Pamaur, Fatehgarh Sahib. Both are facing attempt to murder charges.
Anil Verma, one of the shopkeepers who were attacked, said his father, a septuagenarian, was sitting in their cigarette shop adjacent to the bus stand, when three Nihangs reached there on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle and slapped his father without any provocation.
“When I rushed to my father’s rescue, they attacked me with sticks and sharp-edged weapons, and snatched cigarette and beedi packets, besides ₹15,000 in cash, from the shop’s counter. As I ran to save myself, a turbaned Sikh man intervened, urging the Nihangs not to assault us. But they turned on him and attacked him with swords and other weapons, causing serious head injury and profuse bleeding,” Verma alleged.
He alleged that the miscreants attacked two more shopkeepers and warned them not to sell tobacco products to avoid dire consequences.
Another shopkeeper, Nikhil, accused the Nihangs of causing loss worth ₹40,000 by dumping the cigarettes, beedi packets and other products from his shop into drains.
“They threatened to set our shops on fire. They had no fear of law. We demand strict action against them,” he said.
CCTV footage from the crime scene showed three men in Nihang attire assaulting an unidentified Sikh man. The accused were seen hitting the victim’s head after his turban got tossed on the road, causing bleeding.
After being alerted, Kharar police responded to the scene, and recorded statements of the victims and took them for medical examination.
“The accused have been identified and will be arrested soon. There is zero tolerance against hooligans and criminals. We have also got videos showing the accused manhandling shopkeepers and a person who stepped in for their rescue. We have booked the accused for murder bid,” DSP Karan Singh Sandhu said.
All accused are facing charges under Sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt to another person), 109 (attempt to murder), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 305(A) (whoever commits theft in any building, tent or vessel used as a human dwelling or used for the custody of property), 3(5) (act done by several persons) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the City Kharar police station.
Earlier on Wednesday, in an incident of road rage, two unidentified men dressed as Nihangs had attacked a 53-year-old man with swords in Phase 3B2 after crashing their motorcycle into his car.
The victim, Harpreet Singh, a resident of Sector 70, was left with serious injuries on the arm.
In his complaint, he had told police that the two bike-borne men crashed into his car at a traffic light near Chawla Hospital around 9.15 pm on Wednesday. An argument ensued and the bikers attacked his car with swords, shattering the back windshield.
The victim tried to drive towards his home in Phase 3B2 but was followed by the attackers. They intercepted him again and struck his car’s windshield and driver’s side window with swords, he had alleged. However, three days later, the accused remain out of police reach..
