6 hurt in clash between employees of buses owned by Cong, SAD leaders

Four buses and a jeep vandalised; gunshots fired; one transport company is owned by former Congress MLA Jasbir Dimpa’s family while the other is owned by SAD leader Nirmal Kahlon’s family

Six people were injured and four buses and a jeep were vandalised in a clash that erupted between staff members of buses owned by Congress and Akali leaders at the Amritsar bus stand.

The clash took place between workers of ‘Pyaar Bus Service’ operated by the family of former Congress MLA Jasbir Dimpa and ‘Baba Budha Sahib Bus Service’ owned by the family of SAD leader and former assembly speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon.

Three persons each from the two groups were injured.

One of them, Gurpreet Singh, who represented Pyaar Bus Service, reportedly received a bullet injury in his leg.

The two groups entered into a verbal spat over timing of their buses. Things soon turned violent and a clash erupted between them, wherein gunshots were fired.

Talking to media, Jagir Singh, adda incharge of the Pyaar Bus Service, alleged, “We were operating from the bus stand as usual when suddenly the other party attacked us. They opened fire at our colleagues, injuring one of them. A total of three of our men were injured.”

However, Ravi Kiran Kahlon, partner of the Baba Budha Sahib Bus Service, said, “The Pyaar Bus Service is operating without any genuine permits. They have been threatening our staff to stop operations. Today when one of our buses was parked at the bus stand, they attacked our bus and staff. Later our workers reacted.”

When contacted, Kahlon said, “Our men opened fire in self defence. They also opened fire. However, nobody suffered a bullet injury,” he claimed.

Rajan Gill, brother of former Congress MLA Dimpa, “Members of Kahlon group came in large numbers. Our staff objected when they were trying to violate our time table and operate in illegal manner. They fired on our staff,” he alleged.

The city police later registered a case against the employees of Baba Budha Sahib Bus service.

Confirming this, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Prabhjot Singh said the case had been registered against five people.

SAMEER SEHGAL/HT Gurpreet Singh, who was injured in the clash, being treated at civil hospital Amritsar; and (right) Police examining the damaged bus where the clash between the two groups took place at the bus stand in Amritsar on Thursday.