Attacked in Himachal, Punjabi-Spanish couple demands action

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, June 15

A Spanish-Punjabi couple who recently went to Dalhousie on vacation alleged that they were badly beaten up by local residents following an argument over parking of their car. The confrontation escalated into a violent attack, as a result of which the man suffered head injuries and broke his arm. They claimed that the videos they had recorded were deleted by the assailants and that locals misbehaved with his Spanish wife.

Victim Kawaljeet Singh, an NRI from Panwa village in Majitha, said, “We have been living in Spain for the last 25 years. Two weeks ago, we returned to Punjab and decided to establish a business here. I along with my wife and brother went to Dalhousie. We were unaware about the ongoing political issue. We had an argument with parking staff in the car parking lot. They called several other locals and started thrashing us. The incident happened in front of the local police station and they were helpless in front of a violent crowd. My wife recorded the incident on her mobile phone, but the police deleted it.”

Kawaljeet Singh claimed that his Spanish wife got a panic attack on the spot. She is still in panic and wanted to return to Spain. “On the one hand, politicians are inviting Punjabis for reverse migration, but how it is possible in such circumstances. We are here to do business and don’t want to indulge in any politics here but such violence would adversely hit the tourism industry in Himachal. We don’t suggest anyone to visit there. The government should take action against the accused.”

Local Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla visited the local Parvati Devi Hospital in Amritsar and met the couple. He expressed his concern over the statements of Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut. “I will talk to the Himachal Pradesh CM to take action against the culprits. A crowd assembled in the name of Kangana Ranaut. I always oppose targeting any community, social or religious group. Politicians should act with responsibility. We condemn the celebration of slapping the actor, but also oppose her statement against farmers. We hold responsible only those handful of local people who attacked us otherwise we don’t blame anyone in Himachal.”