220kV Chogwan substation attacked, property damaged

Amritsar, August 7

Upset over frequent power cuts, around 100 armed persons barged into 220kV substation of Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited at Mandiawala village and injured three employees besides damaging property and equipment worth Rs 20 lakh. The incident occurred on Saturday around 10.15 pm.

Nirmaljit Singh, SSE, Chogwan 220kV substation, lodged a complaint with the Lopoke police after which two persons identified as Sukha Singh and Dharam Singh were arrested in this connection. Resham Singh and Motu of the same village, who were involved in the incident, were absconding. The remaining suspects were yet to be identified, the police said.

In his complaint to the police, Nirmaljit Singh alleged that Sukha Singh made an announcement through the village gurdwara speaker and managed to gather around 100 persons. Later, they barged into the Chogwan substation after breaking open the gates and damaged equipment and government property worth Rs 20 lakh. The power supply remained interrupted in the area for two hours.

Nirmaljit alleged that the suspects assaulted department employees Navjot Singh, Satnam Singh and Gursahib Singh, a guard. The suspects allegedly broke their mobile phones and snatched their purses during the incident. The police registered a case under Sections 352, 186, 332, 379-B, 427, 452, 148 and 149 of the IPC in this connection. Further probe was on, said the police.