Kiosks near Golden Temple ransacked; traders miffed

Amritsar, May 28

A group of around 12 persons dressed in Nihang attire allegedly robbed and ransacked several kiosks near Gole Hatti Chowk, Hall Gate, around a kilometer before the Golden Temple, last night. Following the incident, shopkeepers and traders expressed their displeasure with the police as they believed that they arrived late at the scene.

However, the police assured that investigations were underway and they were working to identify and arrest the suspects. Shopkeepers and kiosk owners alleged that the perpetrators threatened them with swords, forcing them to abandon their shops. They further claimed that the accused stole cash and inventory from the shops.

Pawan Kumar, a resident of the Gopal Nagar area, reported that around 20 miscreants in Nihang attire arrived at his paan-cigarette shop when he was closing it around 11.30 pm. The accused allegedly threatened to kill Pawan, which forced him and other shop owners to flee. Pawan alleged that the perpetrators had ransacked the shops and stolen items like cigarettes, cash, cold and energy drinks.

Another shopkeeper claimed that the incident had occurred in the absence of law and order since the accused had openly robbed them and vandalised their property. They criticised the police for arriving late on scene after the miscreants had fled.

Dr Mehtab Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, said investigations were on and the police were reviewing the CCTV footage to identify the suspects.