Amritsar, August 28
Controversial Nihang chief, Ajit Singh Poohla, facing trial for rape, murder and other heinous crimes was attacked by two under-trial prisoners in the high-security Amritsar Central Jail here today. He was taken to the civil hospital in a critical condition and later shifted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, from where he was referred to the PGI,
Chandigarh.
Dr A.S.Padda, medical superintendent, said Poohla had received 70 per cent burns in the attack and was in a critical condition. According to sources in the jail, Poohla was attacked by the two youths lodged in the jail. The accused have been identified as Harcharan Singh of Sarai Amanat Khan and Navtej Singh of Batala road, Amritsar. The alleged culprits reportedly took diesel from the generator of the jail and sprinkled it in the cell where he (Poohla) was lodged. Then they threw matchsticks.
Both accused were arrested and taken in remand by the police. A case of murder has been registered at Sadar police station. The police said the accused sprinkled diesel on Poohla and then set him on fire. By the time he was rescued by the jail staff, he was badly burnt. DC Amritsar, Kahan Singh Pannu, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The
police said it was investigating how the accused had managed to obtain diesel in the jail. The motive of attack is not yet clear. The jail authorities have suspended three employees for negligence and a high-level probe ordered by jail authorities.
Poohla was lodged in Amritsar Central Jail following the cancellation of his bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a murder case. He was arrested by the former Congress government led by Amarinder Singh, following agitation by the Majha Ex-Servicemen’s League, led by Col G.S. Sandhu.
During the peak of militancy, Poohla was a terror in the border belt of the state. He, however, extended support to the security agencies hence was on the hit list of militants those days. The beleaguered Taruna Dal Nihang chief once enjoyed a high-security cover with 42 official gunmen and 77 sophisticated weapons during militancy.
The Nihang chief was again arrested on May 13 this year from Darhewal Kotli village (Ghuman police station) in connection with an old case pertaining to the murder of seven members of the family of Joga Singh of Khanpur village. Earlier, Poohla was arrested on July 29, 2004, from his headquarters at Jhutha Kartarpur, near Baba Bakala, in a joint raid conducted by the Nawanshahr and local police with the active support of ex-servicemen in connection with the murder of Nihang Sukhdev Singh at Mazaar Sayeed Jora Peer Behram in Nawanshahr police district on June 20, 2002.
Later, on April 9, 2007, the Beas police again arrested the Nihang leader following a crackdown on his headquarters, gurdwara Damdama Sahib. He was arrested on charges of forcibly ploughing the standing wheat crop belonging to Santokh Singh, a resident of Lakhowal village, a couple of days ago.
Chandigarh: Poohla who was brought to the PGI suffered 60 per cent to 70 per cent burns on the face and the chest, according to the doctors. He has also suffered minor burns on his back and left leg.
