DIG Jeetinder Aulakh addressing mediapersons
Balbera (Patiala), April 12, 2020: Nine persons, including Nihangs and a woman, were arrested from Gurdwara Khichdi Sahib, village Balbera, tehsil Sanaur, today after some of them attacked policemen at Sanaur vegetable market earlier in the day.
According to IGP Patiala, Jeetinder Singh Aulakh, who was present at the spot along with SSP Patiala Mandeep Singh Sidhu, after the police surrounded the gurdwara, they asked the people inside to surrender but they refused.
READ: Nihangs assault policemen in Patiala, ASI loses his hand in clash
“The people inside started abusing us on a loudspeaker. Later, we sent some villagers inside the dera to talk to the nihangs and ask them to surrender but they returned and told us that the people inside refused to surrender. Later, we heard shouting inside and thought that they had some hostage, I immediately ordered my men to storm the dera and arrest them. When the police entered inside they were fired upon and we retaliated,” Aulakh said.
“Some policemen suffered injuries but we managed to arrest them. We recovered illegal weapons, petrol bombs, poppy husk and cash amount to around Rs 4 to 5 lakh though the exact amount will only be known when we finish counting it. The dera head has three criminal cases registered against him including attempt to murder and theft. Nobody in the area liked these people as they had used to terrorise them,” Aulakh said.
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