Key accused among 6 held for Patiala clashes

PATIALA: The main accused Barjinder Singh Parwana, was among the six more people arrested in connection with the clashes here that had left four people injured, the Punjab Police said on Sunday.

Two groups had clashed on Friday over an anti-Khalistan march, hurling stones at each other and brandishing swords, forcing police to fire in the air to bring situation under control.

With the arrest of six more people, the number of accused who had been nabbed so far reached nine, said police.

Addressing the media here, Inspector General of Police (Patiala range) Mukhwinder Singh Chhina said, “The main accused Barjinder Singh Parwana has been arrested from Mohali.” Parwana, 38, was presented before a court here and was sent to 4-day police remand. A resident of Rajpura in the district, Parwana is one of the masterminds of Friday’s incident, according to the police. He had been accused of provoking the Sikh radicals to move towards the Kali Mata temple on Friday.

Parwana alias Sunny is a man with criminal antecedents with four FIRs lodged against him in the past. Three of these cases were registered in Patiala and one in Mohali, according to police.

Parwana, a graduate, is known for making provocative speeches on social media. He had also participated in the farmers’ protest against the three central farm laws. IG Chhina said police also arrested Shankar Bhardwaj, an accomplice of Harish Singla, and Ashwani Kumar Gaggi Pandit, who made hate speeches.

Police also arrested Shivdev, a resident of village Bal Sikandar in Fatehgarh Sahib district; Davinder Singh, a resident of Haryana’s Jind; and Rajinder Singh, a resident of Samana in Patiala. The IG said so far nine people have been arrested.