Defeated SAD candidate opens fire at Congress corporator - Both groups pressurise police to register case against each other

Wednesday, 04/03/2015

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=126073&boxid=57408&uid=&dat=2015-03-04

Bathinda : A defeated candidate of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday opened fire at the recently-elected Congress Municipal Corporator in Bathinda.

The Congress Corporator Beant Singh, along with his family members and supporters, including some women, was distributing sweets among the residents of ward number 19 for reposing faith in him in the recently-held Municipal Corporation elections, when the incident took place.

“We were all very humble in our gesture but seeing us near Kishori Lal Hospital on the main road of North Estate, Rajinder Singh Mann, his brother (a policeman) and some others started hurling abuses. On being asked about provocation behind the act, Mann turned furious and he pointed a revolver towards me and opened four rounds of fire from the revolver in his hand,” alleged Beant Singh.

“To save lives, we all dispersed. I, along with few of my supporters, took shelter in kothi number 303, located nearby, but the Mann group reached there too and made some unsuccessful attempts to barge into the house,” the Congress Corporator alleged.

Also slamming the police of not responding to the situation according to the gravity, Beant alleged that the police reached nearly an hour after the first call made to the SHO Civil Lines police station. He, further, mentioned that even after reaching the spot, the cops opted to first listen to the assailant group than ensuring their rescue.

On the other hand, Rajinder Singh ‘Raju’ Mann, the SAD leader in question, accused the Congress Corporator Beant Singh, his family members and supporters of first teasing him and then marching towards him with a ‘visible’ intention to assault him.

“I was sitting at the shop dealing with car accessories when they all celebrating the victory started marching towards me with a visible intention to assault me. Sensing their intention, I opted to pull out my licensed revolver and opened fire in the air, as a gesture of self defence,” claimed Rajinder Mann.

Ironically, after the incident both groups started mounting pressure on the police to register a case against each other. Finding himself in a piquant situation, Civil Lines police station SHO Karamjit Singh asked both the groups to tender their applications, narrating the whole incident and assured them of taking the desired action.

Till the time of filing this news report, both groups were busy in drafting their applications and no case was registered against anyone.

Meanwhile, numerous SAD and Congress leaders along with other supporters had come in support of their respective leader.

The district president (urban) of the Congress Mohan Lal Jhumba, who had also reached the Civil Lines police station, questioned the police of the reason for not binding Rajinder Singh Mann to get his weapon deposited in compliance with the orders of district magistrate. He also demanded that Mann be booked for defying the ban imposed on carrying fire arms along (under Section 144 of the Cr PC).

It is pertinent to mention here that there was a close contest between Beant Singh and Rajinder Singh from ward number 19, which finally Beant Singh had won with a margin of a mere 43 votes.