An unidentified assailant shot at and critically injured Sikh academician Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, whose recent appointment as the first vice-chancellor of the newly set up Shri Guru Granth Sahib World University was steeped in controversy amidst angry objections from radical Sikh groups.
The lone gunman, described by eyewitnesses as a “middle-aged Sikh man wearing a turban and with a flowing beard”, accosted Dr Ahluwalia as he was exiting his new campus office in the holy township of Fatehgarh Sahib on Monday afternoon. After calling out to gain the VC’s attention, the attacker whipped out a pistol and fired twice hitting his target on head. Unconfirmed reports stated the assailant raised Khalistan slogans as he walked away from the scene.
A university guard, Rajwinder Singh said, “It all happened so quickly. V-C sahib was talking on his mobile phone while walking. I heard the gun shot fired in air and before I could react, the second shot was fired. I rushed to pick him up and the assailant fled.”
Bleeding profusely and unconscious, Dr Ahuwalia was rushed to Chandigarh’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research and Education where doctors are battling to save his life. He is currently stated to be on ventilator support in an intensive care unit pending surgery.
A close associate of Punjab’s chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Dr Ahluwalia was named first vice-chancellor of the SGGSWU — inaugurated only last week — despite vehement protest by panthic organisations. The groups, including most pro-Khalistan outfits, objected to the appointment in light of Dr Ahluwalia’s controversy-ridded past.
He was accused of “attempted rape” and “murder” amidst a host of other allegations during his tenure as vice-chancellor of Patiala-based Punjabi University between 1999 and 2002. He was, however, acquitted of the moral turpitude charge, which came to be known as the Saru Rana Sexual Harassment Case, only last year.
Besides the involvement of radical elements, Punjab police officers investigating the attack are also exploring possible motives in what sources described as “an ugly dispute within Ahluwalia’s own family.”
Meanwhile, the attack on the V-C has evoked condemnation from all quarters, including the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress as well as the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.