2 held for thrashing Sikh man in Haryana

Chandigarh: Haryana Police Friday arrested two people in connection with the alleged assault on a Sikh man in Kaithal who had claimed that he was thrashed and called a “Khalistani” by the assailants.

After the incident on Monday evening, Kaithal police formed a five-member Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.

Those arrested have been identified as Ishu, a resident of Singwal village in Jind and Sunil, a resident of Shergarh village, Superintendent of Police, Kaithal, Upasana told reporters in Kaithal.

Both the accused are aged around 30 and were apprehended from Pega village of Jind district, she said.

During preliminary interrogation of the accused, it has come to the fore that Ishu, who is in the finance business, faces two cases under the Arms Act, she said, adding Sunil is a taxi driver.

The arrests were made based on various inputs collected by the SIT, she added.

Police had earlier announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the duo.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) condemned the incident and called for immediate action against the culprits.

According to the police complaint, the victim was waiting at a railway-level crossing in Kaithal when the incident took place on Monday evening.

As the gates opened and traffic started moving, the man had an argument with two motorcycle-borne youths. The matter escalated and a fight broke out between them.

“They abused me and called me a Khalistani. One person got down from the motorcycle and hit me with bricks,” the victim, who was hospitalised, had told reporters on Tuesday.