Mohali : Six individuals have been arrested in connection with a violent assault that occurred recently at the government hospital in Derabassi, police said on Sunday. The altercation, allegedly linked to a dispute over illegal mining in Mukandpur village, has since taken on political overtones.
The arrested accused—Anil Kumar alias Hani Pandit, Naresh Kumar, Manish Kumar Mangu, Mohit, Gurmeet Singh, and Naib Singh—were produced before a local court and remanded to three-day police custody, according to Derabassi DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar.
An FIR has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on a complaint by Ranjit Singh alias Minta, naming 17 individuals. The remaining accused are still at large.
The assault is said to have originated from a long-standing conflict over illegal mining activities. The situation escalated when Hani Pandit submitted a formal complaint to the Mohali Deputy Commissioner, following which his family was allegedly attacked—first at their home and then again within the hospital premises.
The case has snowballed into a political controversy after Congress leader Deepinder Singh Dhillon accused the ruling AAP of sheltering criminals. Dhillon claimed that Ranjit Singh, allegedly involved in the assault, is a known gangster with 14 criminal cases, who was recently inducted into AAP and made sarpanch of Mukandpur.
“The government talks of ending gangster culture, but their own MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa welcomed such elements into the party just ahead of the panchayat polls,” Dhillon said in a video statement.
Dhillon also alleged that tensions were stoked after Congress supporters were prevented from holding a kabaddi tournament, a decade-old tradition in Mukandpur, despite a High Court directive.
Police continue to investigate the case and are on the lookout for the remaining accused.
