In a surgery lasting over seven and a half hours, doctors at Chandigarh’s PGIMER have successfully managed to reattach 50-year-old police’s hand that got chopped off in an unexpected attack by a group of Nihangs in Punjab’s Patiala on Sunday, the officials added in a statement.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjeet Singh’s hand was chopped with a sword while three other Punjab policemen including a mandi official picked up nasty injuries when the Nihangs assaulted them with full force after being asked to show curfew passes at a vegetable market in Patiala district.
The Punjab Police detained 11 people, including a woman in link with the attack which happened at 6.15 am in Sanaur town.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government decided to promote the policeman.
According to a report by The Times of India, Assistant Sub Inspector Harjeet Singh, whose hand was chopped off while bravely fighting off an attack in Patiala on April 12 has been promoted to the rank of Sub Inspector in acknowledgement of his extraordinary tale of bravery.
As per the official statement, three other police personnel involved in the incident have been awarded the Director General’s Commendation Disc.
The decision was taken by Director General of Police, Dinkar Gupta, after consulting CM Amarinder Singh on April 16.
It is worth mentioning here that Inspector Bikkar Singh, ASI Raghbir Singh and ASI Raj Singh are the other three police officers who are awarded for showcasing courage and commitment to duty.
The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) added that their Director Dr Jagat Ram received a call regarding it from Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta at around 7.45 am after which the emergency team at the trauma centre there was warned.
As per premiere institute, Prof Ramesh Sharma who is the Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, was given the task of the surgery.
“The replantation started around 10 am,” PGIMER said that the medical procedure at the operation theatre took about seven and a half hours.
This was indeed very complex and challenging surgery which has been successfully accomplished, the institute added in a statement.
“It was evaluated at the end of surgery that the hand is viable, warm with good circulation. We pray to the god for his fast recovery,” the PGIMER said.
“I am happy to share that a 7.5-hour long surgery has been successfully completed at PGIMER to repair the severed wrist of ASI Harjeet Singh. I thank the entire team of doctors and support staff for their painstaking effort. Wishing ASI Harjeet Singh a speedy recovery,” said CM Captain Amarinder Singh.
With Inputs From TNN and agencies.