PHAGWARA: The tense atmosphere that engulfed Phagwara throughout Wednesday eased late in the evening after senior police officials intervened and announced the arrest of one of the accused involved in the assault on Shiv Sena Punjab vice president Inderjit Karwal and his son Jimmy (Zimmi) Karwal.
Earlier in the day, the city observed a complete shutdown as hundreds of residents, accompanied by representatives of various political, social and religious organisations, staged a large-scale dharna demanding immediate arrests. The violent attack on the father–son duo on Tuesday evening had sparked widespread outrage among Hindu organisations and local groups.
Tension de-escalated after DIG Jalandhar Range Naveen Singla, along with SSP Gaurav Toora and SPs Madhvi Sharma and Gurpreet Singh, met the protesters and confirmed the arrest of an accused identified as Kanoj. Demonstrators agreed to withdraw the protest but issued an ultimatum demanding the arrest of all remaining suspects by Saturday, warning of intensified agitation beginning Sunday if unmet.
Police officials said the arrested accused was found carrying a country-made pistol. Three main suspects have been identified—Tanish alias Bhinda, believed to be the conspirator; Sunil Salhotra; and Kanoj. According to the FIR, the victims were attacked near Gaushala Bazar around 6:25 pm on Tuesday by armed assailants who assaulted them with intent to kill and fired shots in the air before escaping.
With markets shut and security tightened throughout the day, protests remained peaceful. As normalcy slowly returned, police assured that special teams are pursuing the remaining suspects and monitoring the situation closely. Residents now await swift action to restore complete peace and security in the city.
