 "Cop killed, 6 injured in firing to take control of Kapurthala gurudwara")
A Punjab Police constable was killed and six others were injured on Thursday in an exchange of gunfire between two Nihang factions trying to take control of the Gurdwara Sri Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala.
The police said that the identities of the people behind the gunfire are yet to be ascertained.
Sultanpur Lodhi police station house officer Lakhwinder Singh said that constable Jaspal Singh was killed, and others have suffered "kirpan" (sword) injuries. The SHO added that the injured are being treated at the Sultanpur Lodhi Civil Hospital.
For the past few days, police were deployed at the gurdwara as tensions had been escalating between the two groups.
Vatsala Gupta, senior superintendent of police, Kapurthala, said that there was an ongoing conflict over the possession of the gurdwara, with the police and civil administration attempting to resolve the issue.
Sources in the police said Baba Budha Dal 96 Karori Sant Balbir Singh had held Gurdwara Sri Akal Bunga in Sultanpur Lodhi for years. His associates, Nirvair Singh and Jagjit Singh, managed the gurdwara on his behalf. On November 21, Sant Baba Man Singh forcibly entered the gurdwara with his associates, and assaulted Nirvair Singh and Jagjit Singh. They seized their weapons, phones, money, and captured the gurdwara. Following this, a case was filed against Baba Man Singh and his associates at Sultanpur Lodhi police station.
On Wednesday, 10 associates of Nihang Singh Man Singh attempted to seize "Peer Geb" near Busowal Road. The police intervened and arrested them, and registered cases against them, including murder, in clashes between the groups since May 15, 2020.