Gagneja shifted to DMC Ludhiana

Jalandhar, August 7:- The condition of Punjab’s Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) vice-president Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd), who was shot at by two bike-borne assailants near Jyoti Chowk here on Saturday evening, is still critical and efforts are on to shift him to DMC Hospital, Ludhiana.

A surgery was conducted on him at Patel Hospital here last night that went on till 3:30 am today. Doctors removed two bullets from his abdomen, while the third one lodged near the liver is yet to be removed. Dr Jaspal Singh, a surgeon from DMC Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, had been called in here for expert help on the instruction of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Gagneja (65), who resides at Deep Nagar here, accompanied by his wife Sudesh Rani to the market in his Maruti Swift car, had stopped along a lane when he was shot at thrice by two masked youths on a motorcycle from close range.

The victim’s daughter, Ruchi, who resides at Udham Singh Nagar, said, “My mother was in the car when the incident took place. She could not spot the assailants and just heard the sound of bullets”.
A simple man, Brig Gagneja had served in Ferozepur as Commander of 7 Artillery Brigade before joining the RSS. He is one of the senior RSS leaders and has served as Prabudh (top ideologue). He has two daughters and a son, Rahul Gagneja, who is presently serving as Major in the Army. He is taken in high esteem by the BJP rank and file.
DGP, SIT team begin investigation
Meanwhile, Hardeep Dhillon, DGP (law and order), and ADGP IPS Sahota, SIT head, on Sunday visited the crime spot at Jyoti Chowk. DGP Dhillon said he would divulge details later.
Arpit Shukla, Commissioner of Police, said, “We have formed 10 teams to probe the incident. CCTV footages along the various routes of the city are being scrutinised. All eyewitness accounts are also being collated.”
Shukla had told media last night that he had given two security men to Gagneja about two weeks back but he refused.
Top BJP leaders camping in city
All top Punjab BJP leaders, including party’s national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, state president Vijay Sampla, Minister Anil Joshi, former BJP Punjab chief Kamal Sharma, CPS KD Bhandari and Jalandhar Central MLA Manoranjan Kalia, have been camping at the hospital since last night.
BJP state president Vijay Sampla has cancelled Ludhiana meet of the party, which was scheduled for Sunday. Instead, he has called a meeting of the core committee at Circuit House today to dwell on the issue. Prabhat Jha, in-charge Punjab affairs, too turned up to inquire about the health of the RSS leader and attend party meeting on law and order problem.