Man held for assaulting Kashmiri shawl seller

Hours after a Kashmiri shawl seller was attacked and robbed by three bike-borne miscreants, the Kapurthala police on Sunday arrested one of the assailants.

In his complaint, Shafi Khoja, a Kupwara native currently residing in ward number 4 of Mohalla Khurampati in Shahkot, Jalandhar, alleged that three bike-borne assailants assaulted him and robbed him of Rs 12,000 and shawls he was carrying to sell while he was walking between Shahwal and Bhagoraian villages in Sultanpur Lodhi on January 18.

A case under Sections 307, 309, 127(2) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Sultanpur Lodhi police station.

While Rajkaran Singh, a resident of Dandupur, Kapurthala, was arrested in the case and a bike without number was recovered from him, raids were on to apprehend his two accomplices, identified as Lovepreet Singh and Jashanpreet Singh, the police said.

Hargurdev Singh SHO, Sultanpur Lodhi police station, said, “The robbed amount has been recovered from the suspect. We are working on leads to nab the other two persons involved in the incident.”

Sarabjit Rai, SP (Investigation), Kapurthala, said, “The three suspects hail from the same village. Cases were registered against them in the past as well.”

Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) national convener Nasir Khuehami had taken up the matter with Chief Secretary KAP Sinha. The Chief Secretary made a phone call to Khuehami, informing him about the arrest in the case. The students’ association leader expressed gratitude on a prompt action in the case.

Sinha said, “We will ensure the safety of students from J&K studying in Punjab and Kashmiri labourers working here. They will not be harmed or harassed at any cost.” Malik Adnan, national spokesperson of the association, thanked the Chief Secretary and DGP Gaurav Yadav for prompt action in the case.