One Punjab home guards constable lost his life while five other police
personnel were injured in an exchange of fire between Sulltanpur Lodhi police
and a group of Nihang Sikhs, said police on Thursday.
The deceased constable has been identified as Jaspal Singh, who was
posted at Sultanpur Lodhi police station.
The exchange of fire was a result of ongoing tension between two groups
of Nihangs over control of a Gurdwara at Sulltanpur Lodhi in Pubjab’s
Kapurthala district.
The head of the Baba Buddha Dal, Baba Balveer Singh had occupied the
front of a Gurudwara, where his two aides, Nirvair Singh and Jagjit Singh, were
seated.
On November 21, the head of the second breakaway faction of Baba Buddha
Dal, Baba Maan Singh Vallo, along with 15 to 20 other companions, forcibly
entered the Gurduwara.
After entering the Gurudwara, the Baba Maan Singh-led group tied Nirvair
Singh with a rope while Jagjit Singh was attacked by a weapon and his
ammunition, mobile phone and money were taken from him after which the group
occupied the Gurdwara and other places.
The Sultanpur Lodhi Police, immediately taking action into the matter,
apprehended 10 individuals associated with Baba Maan Singh’s group after which
the firing incident occurred.
Heavy police force has been deployed in area.
It is to be noted that tension prevailed in the area before the birth
anniversary of the first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev on November 27.
Both groups got engaged in fight in 2020 in which a Nihang was killed.
Same year, a policeman’s hand was chopped off with a sword and six of his
colleagues were injured in an attack by a group of Nihangs at a vegetable
market in Patiala.
NE Watch Desk With ANI Inputs
