Summary:
Rajkot: A group of 15 assailants attacked an ex-corporator from the Congress party Hamid Bhatti near the Kutch University gate in Bhuj after intercepting his SUV on Wednesday morning. They first stoned the car, smashing its screen and window glasses and then attacked Bhatti with knives, swords and iron pipes, before fleeing. Police said the accused were relatives of notorious criminal Mohsin Hingorja and former members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).It was suspected that the firing was the fallout of some personal rivalry and the accused suspected Bhatti to be a police informer. They also vandalized his SUV.According to police, the incident occurred while Bhatti, a resident of Patwadi Naka locality in Bhuj, was on his way to the university to appear for an exam.“The assailants arrived in three cars, intercepted Bhatti’s car and launched the attack. Bhatti was rushed to a private hospital in Bhuj, where his condition is serious,” said an official from Bhuj B-Division police station.Later, angry supporters of Bhatti vandalized two shops in Bheed Naka locality of Bhuj, from where the assailants were suspected to have come.Police swung into action and deployed security in Bheed Naka as well as at the hospital where Bhatti was admitted.Earlier, on the night of December 23 last year, three assailants, identified as Yunus Hingorja, Ismail Juma and Ayub Juma, had opened fire on Bhatti’s house..