Threatened, assaulted in Bangalore, Sikh family turns to Akal Takht for help

AMRITSAR: A Bangalore-based retired Sikh Army officer, whose wife and two sons were allegedly assaulted and threatened, has approached the Akal Takht requesting it to use its influence on the Karnataka government to give him justice in the case.

In a letter written to the Akal Takht jathedar, a copy of which was sent to TOI on Saturday, Col R S Uppal (retd) wrote, "My son Harmeet Uppal was brutally assaulted and he suffered multiple facial fractures and a broken jaw. He had to undergo a 5-our surgery and has six plates in his mouth. He was also hit on the chest, head, back and limbs. My younger son, Harpreet Uppal, suffered multiple blunt injuries on head, chest, face, back and limbs."

Harmeet spoke to TOI from Bangalore, saying his family had been getting threats from people, who told them to sell their property and leave the city. "We have met everybody in the Bangalore police establishment to get justice, but to no avail. Now, we have approached the Akal Takht to ensure that the culprits are booked immediately and we can live safely in Bangalore," he said.

Harmeet, an IT professional having worked in US, alleged, "They threatened to break the legs of my mother Surinder Kaur and outrage her modesty. Police did nothing to safeguard us."

In the letter, Uppal has also mentioned that they were called 'Pakistani'. He stated that despite the seriousness of the assault on the family, they were not even being provided its CCTV footage. "There are three cameras on the main road which captured the assault," he mentioned.

Harmeet said he was hopeful that the Akal Takht jathedar would give directions to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to constitute a committee and probe into the incident which had scared them enough to leave in India's 'Silicon valley'. "We hope the Akal Takht will write to the Karnataka government," he said.

When contacted on Tuesday, Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh's personal assistant Jaswinderpal Singh said they had received the letter and asked for CCTV footage, FIR, medical report and other relevant documents of the assault from the Uppal family.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK : for detailed report & video