MOORHEAD - The criminal case against a Canadian man accused of nearly stabbing another man to death at a rest stop near Moorhead will proceed after he was determined fit to stand trial.
Harmit Bhangu, 33, is charged in Clay County District Court with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault for the Jan. 11 incident at the Interstate 94 rest stop near Moorhead.
He is accused of stabbing a truck driver eight to 10 times and assaulting a police officer after the incident.
The stabbing victim, Dale Morigeau of Montana, survived the attack. Bhangu later told police God ordered him to kill the truck driver.
The criminal case was on hold after doctors determined Bhangu was not competent to assist with his own defense.
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Bhangu's condition has since stabilized after he was put on medication, and he's now considered fit to stand trial, said Jenny Samarzja, assistant Clay County attorney.
Prosecutors also have pursued having Bhangu committed to a secure hospital as a mentally ill and dangerous person.
Doctors have determined that Bhangu is mentally ill, but not dangerous, which Clay County attorney Brian Melton called "absurd."
Without being considered dangerous, Bhangu could end up in a halfway house rather than a secure hospital, Melton said.
"This is definitely not somebody we want in the community," Melton said.
Bhangu will be transported from the state hospital in St. Peter, Minn., to the Clay County Jail for a Wednesday hearing.
Shawn Schmidt, Bhangu's attorney for the civil case, declined to comment until after the hearing.
