LUDHIANA – The Ludhiana police on Wednesday rounded up a few people in connection with the assault on Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale, whose cavalcade was attacked by unidentified people near Barewal village in Ludhiana district on Tuesday evening.
The police have reportedly identified all attackers. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Balkar Singh claimed to have a significant breakthrough, saying they would crack the case soon. The police collected CCTV footage from various locations, including toll plazas, a shop from where the attackers reportedly bought raw material to organise the chhabeel. The police also collected CCTV footage from a local tent house from where the attackers got tables for the chhabeel.
Meanwhile, the family of preacher Bhupinder Singh (35), a close associate of Dhandrianwale, who was killed in the attack, along with activists of Sikh organisations, staged a protest and blocked Samrala Chowk for half an hour on Wednesday morning. They raised slogans against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. The protest was organised by Gurcharan Singh Boparai, Congress MLA from Raikot, who is the cousin of Bhupinder Singh. The demonstrators demanded that the assaulters be arrested immediately. Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhruman Nimble assured demonstrators to this effect following which they called off the protest.
Later, Bhupinder Singh was cremated at his native village Khasi Kalan, 20 km from Ludhiana. Dhadrianwale, radical Sikh leaders and a large number of people attended the cremation. Heavy security was deployed in the area. Bhupinder Singh, the chief of Dera Dhaki Sahib at Khasi Kalan village, is survived by his wife and two sons.
