Hindu activists stage protest against assault of Shiv Sena leader, his son in Punjab's Phagwara

Phagwara (PB), Nov 19 (PTI) Several Hindu activists on Wednesday held a protest here against the alleged assault of a Punjab Shiv Sena leader and his son by some assailants.

The protesters staged a dharna in Gaushala Bazaar, raised slogans against the state government, and demanded immediate arrest of the attackers. They later withdrew following talks with authorities.

Shiv Sena's Punjab vice-president Inderjit Karwal and his son Jimmy Karwal sustained serious injuries in the incident on Tuesday.

Jimmy was in Gaushala Bazaar with his wife on Tuesday evening when he was attacked by some people, who thrashed him and allegedly fired three rounds in the air.

Karwal, who rushed to his son's help on learning of the incident, was also assaulted.

Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Toora asserted that the attack happened over personal rivalry and ruled out any communal angle.

He appealed to people to maintain peace and not to believe in rumours.

"We have set up different police teams to conduct raids and trace the accused. They will be arrested soon," he said.

A case has been registered against five individuals -- Tanish alias Bhinda of Valmiki Mohalla, Sunil Salhotra of Subhash Nagar locality and three unidentified others -- under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Naveen Singla, who visited Gaushala Bazaar, told protesters that two of the assailants have been arrested and urged them to stop the dharna.

Following this, the Hindu bodies withdrew their protest but gave an ultimatum to the administration to arrest the assailants by Saturday. PTI COR CHS RUK RUK