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 arrested 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.

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Nuh:

Nuh Police on Friday arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly strangling his eight-year-old niece to death and burying her body in a field 3 km away from his village, said police. The police recovered the body Friday evening and placed it in the mortuary, they said.

The girl had gone missing under suspicious circumstances on Wednesday.

Her father approached police and said his daughter was playing with other children at home and went missing around 12 pm when he and his wife were away in the fields.

He filed a complaint, on the basis of which an FIR of missing person was registered at Ferozepur Jhirka Police Station on Thursday, said police.

The investigation led police to truck driver Abbas, who was arrested. During questioning, Abbas confessed to killing the girl and burying her body in Doha village. He is yet to reveal the motive behind the killing, police said.

At his instance, the girl’s body was exhumed and sent to Mandikheda district hospital for post mortem, said police.

“The accused used to work as a truck driver. We are questioning him and a post mortem will be conducted tomorrow by the board of doctors,” said Inspector Aman Kumar, SHO of Ferozepur Jhirka Police Station.

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Ambala, Haryana:

Amid a stand-off with the farmers, who are protesting with their demands, Haryana Police in Ambala District has said that any loss to the government and private property during the protest will be compensated by attaching the property and seizure of bank accounts of the protestors.

According to a release from the Ambala police, from February 13, 2024, continuous efforts are being made by the farmer organizations to break the barricade imposed on Shambhu Border by the farmers regarding their march to Delhi and daily attempts are being made to spoil the law and order by pelting stones at the police administration and creating ruckus. During this period, a lot of damage has been caused to government and private property by encroachment.

“The damage caused to government and private property by the agitators is being assessed. The administration had already informed/warned in this regard that if the agitators caused damage to government and private property during this movement, then this loss would be compensated by seizing their property and bank accounts. If public property is damaged by the agitators during the movement, there is an amendment in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 (PDPP Act) under the provisions of the Supreme Court in which, the people who caused damage to public property during the movement or called for the movement and the officials of that organization are held responsible for any damage caused,” the official release said.

It further added that according to the Haryana Public Administration’s Property Recovery Act 2021, in case of damage to government property, there is a provision to compensate for the loss of public property by attaching property and confiscating bank accounts of the person causing the loss.

“In this regard, the actions taken by the administration against the agitators leaders are being implemented. If there has been any damage to any community’s property during this movement, the details of the damage can be given to the administration. Proceedings to compensate for the loss of government property during the farmers’ protest, attachment of property and seizure of bank accounts of the protestors have been initiated,” it added.

Also, the police have initiated the National Security Act (NSA) against the farmer leaders.

“Proceedings have been initiated under the NSA National Security Act 1980/NSA against the chief officials of farmer organizations and the agitators,” the Ambala police said on X.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said the protesting farmers led by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will observe a ‘Black Friday’ on Friday following the death of a farmer at Khanauri Border crossing in Sangrur district, Punjab, during the ongoing protests.

The SKM will also hold a tractor march on highways towards the national capital, said the BKU leader.

In an exclusive talk with ANI, Mr Tikait said, “We will observe a ‘Black Friday’ tomorrow condoling the death of a farmer at the Khanauri Border crossing in Punjab. We held a tractor march yesterday as well.”

An official press statement by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a massive mobilisation of farmers across India in favour of its demands and against the “repression” of the farmers movement in the country.

According to an official statement, “The SKM General Body (GB) on Thursday decided to organise a massive mobilisation of farmers with a slew of programmes to be observed all over India in support of its demands and against the repression of the farmers’ struggle.”

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Chandigarh:

Three women were allegedly raped by four unidentified men in front of their family members in Haryana’s Panipat, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place late Wednesday, police said, adding that the accused were armed with knives and other sharp-edged weapons.

The four men barged into the house where the families lived and used ropes to tie the family members of the three women labourers before raping them.

The accused also robbed their cash and jewellery, police said.

In a separate incident, which also took place late Wednesday night about a km from the spot where the gang rape happened, an ailing woman was attacked, leading to her death, while her husband was robbed, police said.

Police suspect the involvement of the same people in the second incident as the assailants forced their way into the couple’s house and physically assaulted them. They also robbed the man of some cash and his mobile phone.

Station House Officer of Matlauda police station in Panipat, Vijay, said both the incidents took place in the same village.

“A probe is underway… No arrests have been made so far,” he said.

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Faridabad:

A sub-inspector and his team were booked on Tuesday after the family of a man, killed in a police encounter, accused them of murder, officials said.

This comes three days after the encounter and a day after a panchayat was held at Pakhal village demanding the registration of a murder case against the cops, and met a Union minister and a senior Congress leader in the matter.

An FIR has been registered against Sub-Inspector Rakesh Kumar, head of Sector 48 crime unit, and his team under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC at Dhauj police station, said Sube Singh, spokesperson of Faridabad Police.

According to police, the deceased, Balraj alias Balwinder alias Ballu of Pavata Mahabatabad village is a criminal wanted by police in multiple cases of robbery. He was shot dead in a brief police encounter on Saturday while two of his associates were arrested after the incident.

On Monday morning, villagers from Mahabatabad village held a panchayat at nearby Pakhal village and demanded that a murder case be lodged against the cops.

A 35-member committee was formed at the panchayat and senior Congress leader Vijay Pratap Singh spoke to Police Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Arya over phone, demanding that a case of murder be registered against the policemen.

After this, villagers met Union Minister of State Krishnapal Gurjar at his residence in Delhi late in the evening on Monday who assured them that no injustice will be done. A judicial inquiry by Judicial Magistrate Naurang Sharma has been ordered into the matter but the family demanded an FIR before post-mortem. On Tuesday, the FIR was registered.

According to police, the Crime Branch of Sector 48 received information late on Saturday night that Balraj and his two associates were going to commit a crime, police said.

A crime branch team chased the car-borne trio and asked them to stop, they said. “When they asked the three to stop, they opened fire at the Crime Branch team and a bullet hit a police vehicle. Balraj was shot in retaliatory firing by police and his associates were nabbed.

“Balraj was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” a senior police officer said.

After the incident, Balraj’s family members and people from his village started gathering at Badshah Khan Hospital alleging that he was murdered.

Balraj was wanted in four cases of robbery and snatching. He got married eight years ago and is survived by three children, among other family members.

His accomplices are identified as Anup alias Chaliya, resident of Dabua colony and Arvind, resident of Rajiv colony, Faridabad. Anup alias Chaliya was lodged in jail for the murder of one Naresh Bhakri and he had come out of jail on bail recently.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)