A policeman's hand was chopped off and two other police officials were injured when a group of people allegedly attacked them in Punjab's Patiala district. A group of four to five 'Nihangs' (Sikhs armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue top) were travelling in a vehicle and they were asked to stop at a vegetable market at around 6.15am by the Mandi board officials.

"They were asked to show [curfew] passes. But they crashed the vehicle against the the gate and barricades put up there," Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Mandeep Singh Sidhu said. The group then attacked the police personnel on duty, he said.

"An ASI's [Assistant Sub Inspector] hand was chopped off by a sword. A Station House Officer of Sadar Patiala sustained an injury on his elbow and anther official suffered an injury on his arm in the attack," Sidhu said.

The ASI was rushed to the Rajindra hospital where from he was referred to PGIMER in Chandigarh. The Nihangs fled the scene after the attack, the SSP said, adding efforts are on to arrest them.

The incident took place when restrictions are in place in the state because of the coronavirus outbreak.