Sukhbir Badal claims, Punjab Asst IG's assailants were expelled from Akali Dal 6 months ago

Chandigarh, Dec 26: Punjab's deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said, Maninder Singh alias Sunny Goodwill and his friend Rishi Banda were expelled from Shiromani Akali Dal six months ago. Sunny Johar was the national senior vice president of Youth Akali Dal, while Rishi Banda was the vice president of Youth Akali Dal. Apart from the two, another Youth Akali Dal worker Aman and the bouncers are absconding. Sukhir Singh Badal said, hopefully all the assailants will be rounded up by this evening.He said the incident took place at a private restaurant when the AIG had gone in mufti with his friends, and the altercation took place between the AIG SS Mand's NRI friend and Sunny Johar who happened to be the owner of the restaurant. Badal said, it was wrong to attribute all such incidents to his party the Shiromani Akali Dal. "We do not side with anybody, nor do we support anybody", he added.SS Mand, Assistant Inspector General (Counter-Intelligence), Ludhiana range, suffered a fracture after he was assaulted by three Youth Akali Dal leaders and bouncers at a night club in the Ghumar Mandi area here late Monday night. ADGP (Intelligence) Hardeep Singh Dhillon said Mand sustained injuries as he tried to rescue his NRI friend who was assaulted by the three and their musclemen. On the complaint of Canadian NRI Paramjit Singh, the accused have been booked under Sections 307, 395, 148 and 149 of the IPC besides various sections of the Arms Act. Mand, who suffered a broken right tibia, was operated upon on Tuesday evening. Dhillon said the accused were on the run and a manhunt had been launched. “No one is above the law and the accused will be dealt with sternly. I have learnt that Sunny Johar was expelled from the party two months ago,” said a senior police officer.Ludhiana police and doctors are tightlipped about the entire incident. Dhillon said prima facie it appeared to be a typical hotel brawl. “Mand along with Paramjit and two others went to a hotel in Ghumar Mandi for a Christmas party."After spending some time there, Paramjit went to the lavatory, where he brushed his shoulder against Sunny. Paramjit claimed he apologised but Sunny entered into a heated argument and a scuffle broke out. Mand rushed to rescue his friend but was assaulted,” he said.The accused even snatched Paramjit's licensed pistol and mobile phone. Dhillon said they would conduct a detailed investigation and examine the CCVT footage.On December 5, Akali leader Ranjit Singh Rana (now expelled) had gunned down ASI Ravinderpal Singh in Amritsar.Meanwhile, the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) today claimed that Maninderpal ‘Sunny' Johar and Rishi Banda were expelled from the party in May this year. Parambans Singh Romana, YAD disciplinary committee chairman and chief spokesman, said along with Jaskirat Singh of Amritsar, the two had been expelled from the YAD in May for working against party candidates in the runup to the municipal corporation elections.He said Sunny had demanded the party ticket from Ludhiana which had been denied to him. YAD president Bikramjit Singh Majithia said the leadership could not be held liable for the actions of any YAD member, past or present. “If that was the case, Sonia Gandhi would be held responsible for all the wrongs committed by Congress men”, he said. Majithia denied that Sunny was close to him. “If that was the case, I would have inaugurated the joint owned by him. But I have never even visited the joint”. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a judicial probe. Punjab state Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh warned that such instances would demoralise the Punjab Police. He alleged that goons groomed and patronised by Majithia have become a law unto themselves. He asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to tame Majithia, otherwise the state will be thrown to anarchy. The PCC chief referred to the encounter between criminals and the police in Mattewal village in the Majithia assembly segment today in which gangster Sulakhan Mattewal, Majithia's "henchman" was involved. He alleged that while five of his accomplices were arrested, Sulakhan was allowed to escape. Congress leaders Sukhpal Khaira, Laal Singh, Brahm Mohindra, Parminder Pinky and Navtej Cheema said it was ironical that the police officer who had been injured was state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini's right hand man while the “Akali goonda” who had beaten him up was Majithia's right hand man. They said it was unfortunate that the Punjab Police, which had succeeded in wiping out terrorism, was being targeted by Akali goons and urged the Chief Minister to intervene. Gurdaspur Member of Parliament Partap Singh Bajwa has demanded that the Deputy Chief Minister, who holds the Home portfolio, and his brother-in-law, Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, should resign from the Cabinet for the “complete breakdown of law and order” in the state. "If an Assistant IGP can be thrashed, then what to talk about the safety of the common man,” he said. During the last elections, the Election Commissioner had sent Mand, then SSP (Vigilance), Ludhiana Range, to Uttarakhand following a complaint by the Congress during the Assembly elections. He was accused of distributing money to voters in his official vehicle in Gurdaspur during elections .On the other hand, Sunny Johar is considered close to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Johar was involved in a brawl with Congress workers in Majitha during elections. He had a showdown with SHO Sandeep Wadhera after he prevented Johar from getting on to the stage to greet the Badals during a rally. Wadhera was then transferred to Mansa.