At loggerheads with Police, Cong to launch state level agitation

Sunday, 19/10/2014

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Bathinda : A controversy erupted over an RTI query filed by a party worker against a ration depot holder has finally pushed the state Congress launch agitation against Bathinda Police.

Few days back, accusing the Canal Colony SHO of misbehaving with him in the Police station when he had reportedly visited there to arrange compromise between the RTI applicant and the depot holder, District president of the Congress Mohan Lal Jhumba supported by other party workers had staged dharna outside the Police station.

Demanding the suspension of the SHO Gurpreet Singh followed by his transfer, the Congress workers had given a call for indefinite protest, which later converted into Jhumba’s fast-unto-death.

As Jhumba denied undergoing medical examination on Thursday afternoon, the Police forcibly took him to the hospital in the evening. The cops claimed that there was apprehension of him not possessing good health to carry on with his protest.

Speaking to media on Friday, while lying on the hospital bed and being administered intravenous fluid, Jhumba claimed that he was still on fast-unto-death since he had not consumed anything solid and was just sipping water.

He also vowed to intensify the stir against the police department and the District Administration. Till day, it was a local matter between the Congress leaders and the Police. However, on Saturday, the Congress decided to give it a state level shape and a number of senior leaders including Bathinda constituency in-charge Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who is MLA from Giddebaha, accompanied by the party’s Malwa zone president Gurpreet Singh Kangar, MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Former MLAs Harminder Singh Jassi, Gura Singh Tungwali and various local leaders including KK Aggarwal, Rajan Garg and Tinku Grover visited Jhumba at hospital and assured him to take the matter to a justified conclusion.

Speaking to media persons, the Congress leaders mentioned that the matter was brought in the knowledge of the PPCC President Partap Singh Bajwa and the CLP leader Sunil Jakhar, who gave nod to go ahead with the agitation.

“We will wait for just another day, if the administration didn’t accept the demand the Congress would launch a state level dharna in Bathinda,” claimed the leaders. On the other hand, senior Police officials denied the SHO being at fault. They out rightly brushed aside the charges of misbehavour leveled against him.