Chandigarh: A man hailing from Haryana was arrested on Friday for allegedly attacking and injuring a few SGPC staff members and devotees with an iron rod at Guru Ram Das Niwas, inside the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Stating that he was overpowered and handed over to the police by the SGPC staff, the area police said that the incident took place around 12 O Clock (noon) when the SGPC staff noticed the accused moving around suspiciously around the area and questioned him about his credentials following which he got into an argument with them. The SGPC staff subsequently asked him to leave the place.

According to information, the accused soon returned with an iron rod and attacked the SGPC staff and the devotees – who tried to intervene – leaving at least five of them injured, one of them grievously.

Stating that the accused was identified as Zulfan, a resident of Yamunanagar district of Haryana, police said that investigation was on to verify the credentials of the accused and the motive behind such an attack.

SGPC SEEKS STERN ACTION

Meanwhile, taking a serious view of the incident, the SGPC condemned the attack on devotees and sewadars (attendants) at Sri Guru Ramdas Niwas and urged the police to take stringent action against the culprits and to disclose their identities to the public.

The SGPC secretary Partap Singh described the incident as potentially part of a larger conspiracy and called for a thorough police investigation to uncover the truth.

He said that while Sikh devotees from around the world had gathered to pay obeisance at Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib on the occasion of the new Nanakshahi year, an attacker entered Sri Guru Ramdas Niwas around 12 noon and suddenly assaulted devotees and sewadars using an iron rod.

As a result of this brutal attack, three devotees from Mohali, Bathinda and Patiala, along with two sewadars of Sri Darbar Sahib, sustained injuries. Alarmingly, one sewadar and a devotee from Bathinda have suffered severe head injuries and remain in critical condition.

He said that due to swift response and surveillance footage from the CCTV cameras installed within the Sri Darbar Sahib complex, the attacker and one of his accomplice was apprehended and handed over to the police.