The Punjab Police on Friday arrested two Nihang Sikhs for allegedly attacking Shiv Sena (Punjab) leader Sandeep Thapar with swords in Ludhiana, The Indian Express reported.
The third suspect in the attack has also been identified, the police added. The motive behind the attack has not yet been ascertained.
Nihangs, also known as Akalis or Akali Nihangs, are a warrior order within the Sikh community.
On Friday, Thapar was attacked near the Civil Hospital in the city as he was returning from an event, police said. He was on his two-wheeler with Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Sukhwant Singh, the official assigned to protect him, riding pillion when the incident took place, Shiv Sena (Punjab) chief Rajiv Tandon said.
Videos on social media that emerged after the incident showed the three men approaching Thapar as he was on his two-wheeler. In the videos, Thapar could be seen speaking to the men with folded hands, following which one of them attacked him with a sword. Another man could be seen leading the police official away.
Two of the men hit Thapar several times with swords and then fled on his two-wheeler. Singh, the assistant sub-inspector, later took Thapar to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.
The Shiv Sena (Punjab) leader is said to be critical.
Subsequently, Singh filed a complaint with the police and a first information report was registered for attempted murder (Section 109) and under other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In his complaint, Singh alleged that one of the attackers tried to snatch his service revolver and pushed him aside as he alighted from the vehicle, according to The Indian Express.
Tandon claimed that the attack came days after the security cover assigned to Thapar was reduced from three officials to one. He alleged that police in the state were not serious about the “safety of those who talk about the welfare of Punjab and the country”.
Later on Friday, the police during a press conference said that the three men were identified as Sarabjit Singh Saba and Harjot Singh alias Jota from Ludhiana, and Tehal Singh Ladi from Amritsar, The Indian Express reported. All three were Nihang Sikhs, the officers added.
The police arrested Saba and Harjot Singh and recovered Thapar’s vehicle.
Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal Chahal added that an investigation had begun to ascertain the motive behind the attack. “An inquiry has been initiated against the on-duty gunman who was accompanying Thapar and he will be suspended soon.”
Responding to the incident, Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu claimed that law and order in the state had been “reduced to a joke” under the Aam Aadmi Party government, adding that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann needed to provide answers. Mann holds the home portfolio in the Punjab government.
Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that “the manner in which such violent attacks are being carried out in broad day light indicates a total collapse in the law and order situation”.
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