Congress MP Bittu assaulted at Singhu border, turban pulled off, he terms it 'murderous attack'

Vartha Bharati | 24-01-2021 | 22:40:00 IST

Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu | PTI

Chandigarh, Jan 24: Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu was Sunday allegedly assaulted, pushed around and his turban pulled off in what he described was a "murderous attack" by some "mischievous elements" during a 'Jan Sansad' programme at the Singhu border.

The Ludhiana MP's vehicle was also damaged in the attack at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Memorial where he had gone with Congress' Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and party MLA Kulbir Singh Zira to attend the event.

"I was ambushed by a group of people armed with sticks and weapons. Though the attack was carried out in a planned manner, we left immediately because we did not want the farmers' protest to be disrupted due to some miscreants," Bittu told reporters.

According to police officials, no complaint has been received about the alleged incident so far.

"Some mischievous elements whose intentions were unknown tried to spoil the situation by launching a murderous attack on three of us," Bittu said in a Facebook post later.

Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh who was assassinated in 1995, Aujla and Zira have been holding a protest at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi for the past several days in support of the ongoing farmers' agitation against the Centre's three agriculture laws.

Bittu claimed a few people thrashed him near the memorial, pulled off his turban and pushed him around. In the melee, Zira's turban also came off.

Some people were trying to save Bittu and escorted him to his vehicle. However, even as he entered in his vehicle, a group of people attacked his SUV with sticks, broke its glass panes, rear windscreen and damaged its front windshield.

The reason why Bittu was attacked was not immediately clear.

In the Facebook post, Bittu also said the three leaders were fine and blamed some "mischievous elements" for the incident.

He wrote that he along with Zira and Aujla had gone to attend 'Jan Sansad' at Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Memorial.

Zira also blamed "some mischievous people" for the attack, saying farmers could not indulge in such activity.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.

Virat Kohli not available for Railways tie; Rishabh Pant, Harshit Rana to play

05-01-2026 ¦ 05-01-2026 IST

Virat Kohli (PTI)

Bengaluru (PTI): India superstar Virat Kohli will not feature in Delhi's fixture against Railways in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday, head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.

Kohli, who made 131 and 77 on his return to the premier domestic one-day competition, will soon rejoin the national team for the ODI series against New Zealand beginning on January 11.

However, pacer Harshit Rana and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are available for selection for the game in Alur on Tuesday, said Sarandeep.

"Virat is not available. Pant and Harshit will be playing tomorrow," said the head coach and former India spinner.

DDCA president Rohan Jaitely had earlier indicated that Kohli would play three games.

Delhi currently lead Group D with four wins in five matches and a victory against Railways should be enough to advance in the tournament.

The first ODI between India and New Zealand will be played in Vadodara on January 11, followed by games in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and 18 respectively.

Kohli, now a one format cricket, has been in stellar form of late and racked up two hundreds and an unbeaten 65 in the three-match home series against South Africa last month.