Punjab minister gets zero FIR filed in NRI assault case at Dalhousie

Amritsar, June 16

Taking cognizance of the assault on a Spanish-Punjabi couple in Dalhousie by some locals, NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal got a zero FIR registered in Amritsar today.

The FIR was lodged at Baba Bakala, Amritsar rural police station, against unknown persons and referred to Sultanpur police station in Chamba on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim’s brother Jobanjit Singh, who lived in England and had accompanied them to the trip.

Victim Kanwaljeet Singh (26) and his Spanish wife Yolanala Garcia Gozzales have been living in Spain for the past 25 years. Two weeks ago, they came to Punjab to explore some business opportunities. Meanwhile, they planned a trip to Dalhousie and Khajjiar.

In the FIR, Jobanjit stated that they reached Dalhousie on June 10 and reached Khajjiar at 2 am. They parked their car at a parking lot. The next morning around 11 am, when they were driving their car out of the parking lot, they were intercepted by the parking lot contractor and staff members. He claimed that the contractor had threatened them, referring to the slapping incident of MP Kangana Ranaut at the Chandigarh airport by a CISF staff member.

The parking staff had also called up more locals, who attacked Kanwaljeet with a sharp-edged weapon, injuring his arm and head.

Kanwaljeet had alleged that his wife had managed to record the incident on her mobile phone but it was forcibly deleted by the police, who reached the spot. The police had escorted them to the Chamba hospital for first-aid, but was reluctant to register the case, he alleged.

Thereafter, keeping in mind their security, they preferred to return to Amritsar where Kanwaljeet was admitted to a private hospital. At present, he is stable.

Dhaliwal, who met the victim’s family members at Panwa village in Baba Bakala, has written to the Himachal CM and also sought his intervention.

“This incident was condemnable. The Punjab Police have registered a zero FIR in the case. I tried to talk to the DGP of Himachal but I was told that he is out of the state. I plan to meet the Himachal CM and DGP only to hand over the copy of the FIR and demand investigation and strict action against the attackers. Such incidents will create fear in the minds of tourists,” he said.