Youth critically injured in clash between 2 groups

Mohali: A violent clash broke out between two rival groups on Peer Baba Road in Baltana late Saturday night. Police have registered a case of attempt to murder and launched a search for the others involved in the attack.

The clash is believed to be a fallout of a previous altercation between the two groups at the Ramlila Ground in Baltana a day before the incident. Police said both groups confronted each other again, leading to a violent attack involving sharp-edged weapons and sticks.

The injured youth, Ashu, suffered serious head injuries and multiple wounds on other parts of the body. He is currently undergoing treatment at Govt Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh. His condition is stated to be critical.

SI Harjinder Singh, in-charge of Baltana Police Post, said preliminary investigations revealed that an old rivalry between the two groups escalated. Tensions had remained high following the previous day’s dispute at the Ramlila Ground.

Police alleged that Harsh Kumar, a resident of Saini Vihar, Baltana, and his associates surrounded Ashu and attacked him with sharp-edged weapons and sticks around 10pm on the intervening night of May 29 and 30. Upon receiving information, a police team reached the spot and shifted the injured youth to a nearby hospital.

Ashu was initially taken to a hospital in Dhakoli, from where he was referred to the Civil Hospital in Phase 6, Mohali, and later shifted to GMCH-32, Chandigarh, for advanced treatment.

Police said doctors have declared Ashu unfit to record his statement. No family member or eyewitness was available to provide an immediate account of the attack.

Based on preliminary inquiry, police registered a case against Harsh Kumar and his unidentified accomplices under relevant sections of BNS. Harsh Kumar, was arrested and produced in a local court, which remanded him in two-day police custody.

Police said efforts are on to identify and arrest the remaining accused involved in the attack. Multiple raids are being conducted at various locations.