Punjab Cop Went To Fix Drinks Bill Dispute At Restaurant, Beaten To Death

A policeman was beaten to death in Punjab's Barnala last night during an altercation between a restaurant's owner and four kabaddi players over a bill for food and drinks.

Head Constable Darshan Singh was part of the police team called in by the restaurant owner after the kabaddi players refused to pay the bill. When the police team was taking the four kabaddi players away, they allegedly attacked Mr Singh, inflicting injuries that killed him.

Eyewitness Sarabjit Singh has said four kabaddi players drank at the restaurant last night. They later refused to pay the bill and a dispute broke out. The restaurant owner called the cops. Mr Singh and other police personnel arrived at the scene and tried to resolve the issue.

When that did not help, the cops asked the kabaddi players to get into the police vehicle. At this point, the accused allegedly attacked Singh and pushed him to the floor. He suffered a head injury in the fall. His colleague rushed to the civil hospital where he later died, the eyewitness said. The policemen gone, the accused vandalised the restaurant and fled the scene,

Head Constable Singh had been working with the City 1 police station for long and the area is tense following the incident.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann termed the incident "very unfortunate" and said the culprits will be caught soon and punished. The state government, he said, will give Rs 1 crore to the cop's family.