A Bollywood actor survived a hatchet attack outside a Corona, California gym last month. Punjabi actor Aman Dhaliwal, 36, called his alleged attacker a “psychopath” in his first interview since the attack. The suspect, Ronald Chand, 30, of Santa Ana, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
The violent incident happened on March 14 at a Planet Fitness gym, reports KABC. The attack started in the parking lot when Dhaliwal saw the suspect behaving erratically in his car, according to police. The victim began recording the suspect with his cell phone, which upset the suspect. He blocked Dhaliwal with his car, then attacked him. The suspect followed Dhaliwal inside the gym. Video from the incident appeared to show Dhaliwal waiting to knock the weapon out of Chand’s hand and push him to the ground. Several witnesses held the suspect to the ground while waiting for police.
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“I heard screaming behind me,” John Keane, a witness to the scene, told KABC. “I thought people were arguing, so I kind of ignored it at first and then it got louder, so I turned off the machine and turned around and I noticed a guy who had a knife in one hand and hatchet in another, and his arm around another guy who was bleeding.”
Keane said the suspect “acted like he was on drugs.” The suspect “was screaming something about rape. I don’t know what that meant, and after that, he was yelling for water,” Keane recalled. “It was just ramblings and screaming.”
Chand allegedly assaulted Dhaliwal with a hatchet and knife, police said in a statement. Chand held the victim at knifepoint for a “short time” before Dhaliwal took Chand to the ground and detained him with the help of bystanders. Chand was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries before he was booked for attempted murder. His bail was set at $1 million.
Dhaliwal, who starred in the TV shows Vighnaharta Ganesh, Porus, and Ishq Ka Rang Safed, told the Hindustan Times he believes he may be the victim of a Punjabi hate crime. “He was weird. I noticed him and decided not to park close to him. I started doing my preparation for my workout in the car,” the actor recalled. “Soon, he broke the rear left side’s window. As soon as I came out of the car without my shoes, he hit me with the axe. I asked him why are you attacking me. Before I could understand anything, he said something in Hindi: Jai Mata Di. I don’t want to make it Hindu versus any kind of it.”
When Dhaliwal realized the suspect was Indian, he wanted to stop Chand from continuing his attack. “Even if he is a psychopath, he is an Indian,” Dhaliwal said, believing that the attack would send “a negative message” to other Indians living in the U.S. “The idea of safeguarding my Hindustan’s name gave me courage to fight back,” the actor said.
Dhaliwal suffered injuries to his hand, neck, and torso. He got 13 stitches in his hand, 13 in his neck, and some near his chest. “I believe God saved me, despite so much blood loss, I was able to stand,” he told the Hindustan Times.
