Amritsar, November 21
A piquant situation arose when the Kotwali police here booked president of the BJP’s youth wing, district unit, Sanjay Sharma , three councillors of the ruling party and 19 others on charges of “attacking police officials” and causing “wilful interference” in the working of government department after a fortnight of the incident in the police station, here .The FIR (155) has been lodged on the complaint of a woman assistant sub inspector.

Kaustab Sharma , SP (city) feigned ignorance about the lodging of the FIR though he sits in the Kotwali complex.

However, district police chief Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, who is on leave away to Patna told The Tribune on telephone the case was registered “by default” and could be cancelled after investigation. He said he himself was surprised to learn about the registration of a case when he was on leave.

District BJP president Baxi Ram Arora alleged the case was registered against the youth president at the behest of some “black sheep” in the police or politician who wanted to create rift between the SSP and the BJP . He said his party had been supporting the SSP on all fronts due to his “honesty and integrity”. Instead, the erring police officials who had “misbehaved” with the youth leader and councillors should have been suspended for “humiliating” the leader of the ruling party, he said .

Sources said the incident occurred a couple of days before Diwali when district youth president of the BJP visited Kotwali in connection with the police inquiry of a passport of his relative . Some shopkeepers of Guru Bazaar approached him to save their fellow from the Jodhpur police which had come here to arrest him in connection with a “fraud case”.

Arguments followed when the district youth president tried to persuade the police to help the local goldsmiths . Sharma alleged a woman ASI asked him to leave her office.

Surprised over the registration of an FIR after 14 days of the incident, Sanjay Sharma alleged there were two constables who had used “derogatory language” against him and the BJP under “influence of liquor”. He said when he took up the case with the SSP , the “erring officials” urged him with folded hands not to lodge a formal complaint against them . “This was complacency on my part that I did not lodge the FIR” which ultimately went against me” , he said .

The SSP admitted he had received complaints from Sanjay Sharma after the incident , near Diwali. Meanwhile, the SSP assured Baxi Ram Arora the FIR would be cancelled against the Yuva president, after prompt inquiry.