Bathinda doctor shot inside private nursing home, 7 accused arrested

Bathinda: A day after a Bathinda-based doctor in Punjab was shot by two masked men inside his private nursing home, the opposing political parties in the state began questioning the ruling AAP government about the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. 

The incident took place on the evening of 14th January 2023, when two unidentified masked men opened fire at a doctor inside the private nursing home he owns at Talwandi Sabo town of Bathinda, following which a bullet hit his thigh. 

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The police arrested seven persons under charges of attempt to murder and arms act. The Inspector general of police (IGP), Bathinda range, SPS Parmar stated that the seven were arrested after a brief encounter near Gursar village in the Talwandi Sabo sub division on Sunday evening. 

The doctor, who has been identified as 44-year-old Dr Dinesh Bansal, was taken to Max Hospital in Bathinda for treatment. He is reportedly out of danger. Two masked men came to Raj Nursing Hospital pretending to be patient and kin and attacked the doctor. 

According to the complaint filed by the doctor's father, the doctor was reportedly sitting in his hospital, Raj Nursing Home, when two masked men came began an altercation with him, following which they fired a bullet that hit him in the leg. The masked men then fled from the hospital on a motorbike with the help of their accomplice who was waiting for them outside. The incident was captured in the CCTV cameras of the region. 

The arrested have been identified as Pradeep Singh, Davinder Singh, Paramvir Singh, Sukhpreet Singh, Gurbhej Singh, Balwinder Singh and Binu Singh, the accused were aides of jailed gangster Manpreet Singh. The police also recovered two weapons and SUVs from the accused. Stating that the accused were demanding Rs 3 lakh from the doctor, the IGP told the Hindustan Times, "Dr Bansal did not inform the police about any extortion or threat call but our teams acted swiftly and caught the accused." 

The leaders of opposing political parties took this issue to blame the AAP government in Punjab, reports the Indian Express.

The BJP Punjab president Ashwani Kumar Sharma visited the hospital in Bathinda on Sunday, and spoke to the media, "Law and order situation in the state is going from bad to worse day by day. People are getting extortion calls, snatching cases are on the rise, murders are taking place now and then, attacks are happening every second day. The most recent incident was the brutal attack on a doctor inside his nursing home. One can imagine how brazen these criminals have become. The security of people in the state is at stake and the government is to be blamed for this unsafe environment." 

Meanwhile, in a social media post, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "Punjab’s peace and law and order have gone for a toss. Looting, cheating and murder have become the order of the day. Saturday’s deadly attack by robbers – after breaking into the hospital – on a doctor in Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda) is a matter of great concern. I wish Dr Dinesh Bansal a speedy recovery and urge Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to stop his ‘dramas’ and to take care of the safety of the people of Punjab, or else it would cost him dear. Mann has made life of Punjabis difficult by giving the control of the state in the hands of Delhiites." 

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