Bathinda villagers assaulted, houses set on fire

Around 100 people assaulted residents of Daan Singh Wala village, falling under the jurisdiction of the Nehianwala police station, on Thursday night. Beside assaulting the residents, the miscreants vandalised property, set houses on fire and looted cash & jewellery.

Some of the victims — Jaspreet Singh (26), Roop Singh (28), Keval Singh (43), Dalip Singh (28) and Pargat Singh (40) — are undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital, Goniana. They alleged that some time ago they had warned two drug peddlers to stop their illegal activities. Enraged by this, the two returned with around 100 accomplices armed with sharp weapons and launched the attack.

The victims said the attackers used swords and other weapons to assault them, leaving them severely injured. After the assault, the attackers ransacked the houses, destroyed household items such as clothes, refrigerators, televisions, coolers and gas cylinders, and set them on fire. Houses of Major Singh, Pappi Singh, Parsan Singh, Bed Singh, Jeet Singh, Jalwinder Singh, Pargat Singh and Tarsem Singh were gutted. The fire was brought under control after considerable effort.

DSP Ravinder Singh said a few days ago, Jaspreet Singh and Harvinder Singh had a dispute during which Jaspreet Singh had assaulted Harvinder Singh. The two are relatives. He said on Thursday night, Harvinder Singh along with his accomplices attacked Jaspreet Singh and his family members' houses and set them on fire.

“We have recorded the statements of the victims and are taking legal action against the accused,” he said.