Firing over land row leaves child injured in Majitha
AMRITSAR: An eight-year-old boy suffered injuries from bullet splinters when a local Akali leader, Rajinder Kumar alias Pappu Jaintipura, allegedly opened fire during a fight with his brother Pran Nath in Majitha subdivision’s Jaintipur village, 35km from the district headquarters Amritsar, around 8am on Wednesday. Later, Congress leader Sukhjinder Raj Singh ‘Lali’ Majithia was attacked with stones and gunfire at his car when he was in the village to meet the family of the child, it is learnt.
Pappu, who is a former chairman of the zila parishad, and his son and other associates allegedly opened fire as soon as Pran Nath and his son entered their cousin Ashok Kumar’s home for a meeting meant to resolve the old dispute. While Pran Nath and his son ran into a room and remained unharmed, Ashok’s grandson Kartik, who was playing nearby, suffered injuries on his forehead and midriff, but was reported out of danger at Guru Nanak Hospital in Amritsar.
Later in the day, Lali Majithia, who had contested the assembly elections from this segment unsuccessfully against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, reached the house of the injured child to meet the family. An hour and a half later, Pappu’s group allegedly attacked him with stones, and gunshots were fired at him, but only his vehicle suffered damage.
Police then reached the spot and detained Pappu. “A case is being registered under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code among other charges,” said the station house officer of Kathunangal area of jurisdiction.
POLITICIANS INDULGE IN BLAME GAME
Lali held a press conference at the district Congress office and termed the attack on him a “deeprooted conspiracy” and “engineered by those who are close to the former Akali minister, Bikram Majithia”.
“As police had started taking action in the matter and arrested the main accused, his (Pappu’s) men attacked me. They thought my bodyguards will also fire in self-defence and the police will have to register a cross-FIR against me,” he said. Bikram reacted: “The incident in the morning was the result of family dispute, and the Congress leader is deliberately politicising it.”