Panic gripped Kotla Saida village in the Kathunangal area in the Majitha Assembly segment after a group of over 12 armed men barged into a house late on Saturday night, opened fire outside the residence and assaulted family members before fleeing.
According to villagers, the attackers first fired multiple shots outside the house and damaged the windows of a car parked there. They later entered the house and assaulted Baljit Singh, his wife Harminder Kaur and their son with sharp-edged weapons.
The entire incident was recorded in the CCTV cameras installed in the house.
The motive behind the brutal attack was yet to be ascertained, while the police have recorded the statement of the family members and registered a case in this connection, said the police authorities, adding that the CCTV footage installed at the house was being examined to identify the assailants.
In her statement to the police, Harminder Kaur said her husband Baljit Singh worked as a taxi driver, while her father-in-law Prakash Singh was engaged in farming. The family lives together in the village. She alleged that around 9 pm, shortly after her husband returned home and went to take bath, they heard repeated gunshots outside the house. When she came out to check, five-seven youths were allegedly entering the house forcibly.
“When I asked them why they had come and tried to stop them, one of them abused me and threatened to drag my husband out,” she alleged.
She said the unknown attackers assaulted him with an electric iron and a “datar”. Their son also tried to intervene in the matter, but was beaten up by the assailants, leaving both of them injured. She also had her wrist broken during the incident.
The armed youths vandalised rooms before fleeing while issuing threats of dire consequences to the family members.
Parkash Singh, sarpanch of the village, said the incident had shocked the entire village. He urged the police authorities to take appropriate legal action and arrested the attackers.
