SRINAGAR: A 19-year-old Kashmiri is battling for life in hospital after he was critically injured in an attack by goons in Punjab’s Patiala district on Sunday, Clarion India quoted police and his colleagues as having said.
According to the report, the injured, who works as a catering boy in Patiala city, has been identified as Danish Kumar, a resident of the Dooru area of Anantnag district in Kashmir.
The police have registered a case (FIR No. 21/21) at Kotwali police station on charges of attempt to murder invoking section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, a police official told Clarion India over the phone. “We have launched an investigation into the case and are searching for the accused.”
He is currently under medical supervision in ICU of Rajendra Hospital in Patiala and has undergone two surgeries since admission, Clarion India quoted Umar, a friend of Danish as saying.
The incident, according to Umar, took place at around 9: 30 pm when Danish and his friends went to a salon for a hair cut.
“When Danish and his friends left the shop, they were followed by the trio. One of them stabbed Danish in the belly with a scissor injuring his liver,” said Umar. “The attackers were apparently drunk.”
The police official, however, refused to reveal the names of the accused.
Mushtaq Ahmad, a student activist associated with the Jammu and Kashmir Student Association (JKSA) alleged that the police, under the pressure of a local politician, initially shielded the culprits. He said that the police had nabbed the accused but let them free after the intervention of the politician.
Ahmad named three persons involved in the attack — Sukhi, Viru and Lalu.
JKSA spokesperson Nasir Khuehami said he took up the matter with Raveen Thukal, the advisor to the chief minister of Punjab, and urged him to get the culprits arrested at the earliest.
Speaking with Clarion India, Deputy Commissioner Patiala, Amit Kumar, said that his administration will do whatever has to be done. “They (referring to the victim and colleagues) are humans and there is no second thought about it,” Kumar said.
I have spoken to SSP Patiala also. He has assured me that there is no pressure of any sorts and the accused has been booked and arrested under Sec 307 of IPC. The matter is being dealt as per the law. @DGPPunjabPolice https://t.co/fk3k3MuKoN
— Raveen Thukral (@RT_MediaAdvPBCM) January 19, 2021
Meanwhile, advisor Thukral said in a Tweet that the accused has been arrested. He added that the Senior Superintendent of Police Patiala told him there was no pressure of any sorts.
SP City is at the hospital along with other @PatialaPolice officers to probe the matter and extend all help to the family of the injured youth Danish. @NasirKhuehami @PunjabPoliceInd @capt_amarinder https://t.co/FEbztvENXh pic.twitter.com/qFqEEiVzkZ
— Raveen Thukral (@RT_MediaAdvPBCM) January 19, 2021
Khuehami appreciated the quick response of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
