Bains brothers , supporters taken into preventive custody

Sunday, 12/04/2015

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LUDHIANA: The Bains Brothers — Independent MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains — along with more than a hundred of their supporters, including councillors, were taken into custody when they were going to make a human chain against the sand mafia in the state here on Saturday evening.

MLA Simarjit Singh Bains (left) talking to a police official during a human chain campaign in Ludhiana on Saturday.

The police in the morning had imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which five or more people can’t gather or carry a weapon in that particular area.

Though a few Bains supporters were able to create the human chain near Gulmor hotel on Ferozepur Road, the police took them into custody.

They intended to create the human chain from Jagraon Bridge to Sidhwan Canal on Ferozepur Road to create awareness among the locals about the sand mafia.

The Bains brothers had already announced to start their “satyagrah” from April 20 against the sand mafia at the banks of the Sutlej where the illegal mining is allegedly undertaken.

Wearing yellow ribbons and caps with the words “Main satyagrahi hun” written on them, hundreds of Bains supporters started gathering along Ferozepur Road in the evening as they claimed that they would create the chain in a peaceful manner.

As a large number of police personnel started taking the supporters into custody, MLA Balwinder Singh Bains said the objective of the human chain was not to create any obstruction in traffic and they just wanted to make people aware of the menace of sand mafia.

He said though the police were arresting them, the state government and the police could not stop their “satyagrah” against the sand mafia, before the police took him away. He alleged that the state government was involved in illegal mining of sand in the state.

The Bains brothers and their supporters were taken to different police stations. Councillors Parminder Soma, Swarandeep Chahal, Gurpreet Singh Khurana, Daljeet Singh Bhola and Randhir Singh Sibia were also taken into custody.

Bhola, who was taken to the Sarabha Nagar police station, claimed that they were going to make the chain in a democratic way but the police arrested them. He alleged that the state ministers were involved in mining. He said they intended to provide free sand to people from the banks of the Sutlej during the “satyagrah” from April 20 and the government wanted to stop them from doing this.

Meanwhile, a large number of Bains supporters, including women, gathered outside the Sarabha Nagar police station, where the police stopped them from going inside. They raised slogans against the state government and the sand mafia. Some supporters who were taken into custody were also heard raising slogans of “Inquilab zindabad” inside the police station.

Assistant commissioner of police Jaswinder Singh said they took the Bains brothers and supporters into custody as a preventive measure under sections 107/151 of the CrPC.

Deputy commissioner of police Naveen Singla was not available for comment.

BAJWA SLAMS GOVT FOR DETENTION

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday slammed the Badal government for arresting the Bains brothers. “The brothers have been taking up the issues concerning people. Now they have launched an agitation against activities of the sand mafia and non-governance. They are being targeted for taking up cudgels against the Badal government,” he added.

Bajwa claimed that the Bains brothers were under attack since they stopped extending support to the Badal government and the current action against them smacked of political vendetta.