A group of Nihangs chopped off an officer's hand and injured three other Punjab policemen Sunday after being stopped from violating the lockdown in Patiala district, triggering a police operation in which shots were fired and 11 people arrested at a gurdwara.
Assistant Sub Inspector Harjeet Singh's hand was cut off with a sword and three other policemen injured when the group travelling in an SUV attacked them outside the wholesale vegetable market in Sanaur town. A mandi' official was also hurt.
The group fled after the attack and holed itself up in the Nihang Dera complex which also houses Gurdwara Khichdi Sahib at Balbera village, about 25 km from Patiala city.
The stand-off at the gurdwara last hours, till police entered it and arrested 11 people, including the five involved in the mandi attack.
A Nihang Dera member, Nirbhav Singh, suffered a gunshot wound and was admitted to Patiala hospital, police said.
Meanwhile, doctors at Chandigarh's PGIMER re-attached ASI Harjeet Singh's left hand after an operation which lasted over seven hours, officials said.
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A video clip on social media appears to show him seeking help after the attack. A man picks up the severed hand and gives it to the officer. He is then taken away from the scene on a two-wheeler.
The ASI was rushed to Rajindra hospital nearby and then referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
The three other injured policemen are Sadar Patiala station house officer Bakkar Singh, ASI Raj Singh and ASI Raghbir Singh.
They were deployed outside the mandi, enforcing the lockdown to contain coronavirus. Only those carrying curfew passes were being allowed into the market.
The Nihangs -- members of a Sikh sect whose adherents carry traditional arms and wear blue robes -- arrived in an SUV and were asked to stop by mandi' officials, police said
We requested them through the public address system to surrender but they refused, Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta told PTI. The Nihangs inside hurled abuses at the policemen