Amritsar, November 8
A day after an NRI family accused the police of inaction in a firing incident at a marriage resort, the police today arrested 15 persons.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took note of the incident, which had led to widespread anguish among NRIs.
Yesterday, an NRI family held a press conference and expressed its displeasure over the functioning of the police. It alleged that the police were working under the influence of a liquor contractor.
On November 4, the US-based NRI family was holding a reception of their son at the resort near Verka on the Amritsar-Attari bypass, when armed goons of the liquor contractor allegedly barged into the resort and indulged in indiscriminate firing. The incident left the family and guests, including women and children, traumatised.
Ironically, when the incident took place, there was heavy security presence due to the killing of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective) Jagjit Singh Walia said they had arrested 15 persons in the case so far. He said the firing incident took place due to a dispute over procuring of liquor from out of the circle. He added that the police had registered a case and launched a probe immediately after the incident.
Those arrested include Harvinder Singh of Kalanaur; Neeraj Kumar of Patti; Vijay Masih of Kila Lal Singh, Gurdaspur; Baljit Singh of Batala; Jatinder Kumar of Ludhiana; Mehkampreet Singh of Bhullar village, Batala; Manjit Singh of Ajnala; Karnail Singh of Himachal Pradesh; Sanjay Sarkar and Don of West Bengal; Ahsas and Jagtar of Verka.
The prime accused, Kalu Jaintipuria, was yet to be arrested. The police had impounded six SUVs and seized empty shells, eight swords and four baseball bats.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa today demanded suspension of Amritsar Police Commissioner Arun Pal Singh for his inability to control the law and order situation in the holy city.
