5 Sikhs arrested for 'assaulting' local traders in Jyotirmath

Gopeshwar (U'khand): Five Sikh men from Punjab were arrested on charges of assaulting and injuring local traders in a dispute over a parking space in Jyotirmath in Chamoli district, police said.

The men, purported to be devotees, from Mohali had come to visit Hemkund Sahib and taken a room in a hotel on the Badrinath National Highway.

The fight sparked when they were parking their two vehicles in a private space in front of the hotel, Kotwali in-charge Inspector DS Rawat said.

As they were struggling to park their vehicles, a gate broke, leading to a confrontation between the five and parking owner Teeka Prasad Namboodiri and his son Gaurav, Rawat said.

It was alleged that the Punjab natives attacked both of them with stones leaving them injured.

Namboodiri has been admitted to the Community Health Centre, Jyotirmath, while Gaurav was discharged after first aid.

After the incident, the traders went to the local police station and demanded action against them.

Vyapar Mandal President Nain Singh Bhandari alleged Sikh devotees create nuisance in the area often. PTI COR ALM VN VN