Two allegedly wanted men by Punjab police, along with a gang of other 10 men has been booked by Vashi police for assaulting a Sikh Bhajan singer hailing from Gurdaspur, Punjab. The victim identified as Lakhwinder Surjit Singh (45) was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by the booked accused on Friday. The complainant has identified the accused as Happy Singh (35) and Jaspal Singh (42), who are allegedly wanted by Punjab police in the 2016 murder case of Baba Bhupinder Singh, a close associate of religious preacher Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale. “The complainant have told us that the accused are wanted in a murder case at Punjab and that the complainant have been supporting the victim’s case in Punjab due to which he was attacked her. We are yet to verify the claims with Punjab police,” police sub inspector Kuldip Deshmukh from Vashi police station said.
The incident has been claimed to have happened on Friday when the complainant Lakhwinder Singh was going towards Mumbai Airport after attending to some personal work in Mumbai. Singh had been staying at a friend’s house in Kharghar since few days and was scheduled to return on Friday via flight. He was going towards airport in a taxi belonging to his friend and after reaching Juinagar Bridge on Sion Panvel Highway at around 6.30 am, the car was intercepted by the accused.
According to the complainant, two men identified as Happy Singh and Jaspal Singh alighted from the car and assaulted him. While Happy Singh allegedly attacked the right hand of the singer with an iron rod, Jaspal Singh attacked his head with an axe after which around 10 men thrashed the complainant with wooden sticks. The complainant has alleged that the attack was a revenge against him by the men for supporting the family of Bhupinder Singh who was allegedly murdered by Happy Singh and Jaspal Singh in Punjab in the year 2016. The complainant was then forcibly taken to an unknown location and was made to speak on camera that henceforth he wont support the family of Bhupinder Singh and would also not speak against the accuse to anyone. The complainant was made to give the statement after being threatened with a gun.
The Punjab murder had reportedly happened on May 17, 2016 when Bhupinder Singh was accompanying the noted religious preacher Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale in his SUV. Bhupinder Singh, who had occupied the front passenger seat of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prada, suffered a bullet injury on his head after unidentified men attempted to attack the preacher. Dhadrianwale, who normally occupied the front seat, was in the rear seat. As a result, he had a miraculous escape, the reports from the 2016 case, stated.
Vashi Police has registered case against Happy Singh and Jaspal Singh along with other unidentified men under section 115(2)- voluntarily hurt, 118 (1), (2)- hurt with dangerous weapon, 126 (2)- wrongful restraint, 127 (2)- wrongful confinement, 189 (2)- wrongful assembly of five or more, 190- unlawful assembly crime ,191(2),(3)- armed with deadly weapon, 351 (3) criminal intimidation,352- intentional insult of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
