Gagandeep Sharma
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, November 23
While the protest over a farmer’s suicide continued near Rampura Phul for the second day today, another farmer union, BKU (Ugrahan), extended its support by staging a protest outside the Balianwali police station.
The protesters didn’t allow anyone to enter the police station. The kin of the deceased also remained adamant on their stand and refused to cremate his body till the ‘erring cop’ was booked.
On the other hand, hundreds of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) activists blocked the Rampura-Talwandi Sabo road for the second day.
BKU (Ugrahan) leader Mothu Singh Kotra said if the police failed to take action against the sub-inspector and the other individual, they would intensify their stir. He also demanded the arrest of the policeman.
District BKU president Baldev Singh Sandhu said the protest would continue, though he declined to share their future strategy.
Meanwhile, heavy police force was deployed near the protest site. Commuters heading to Takht Shri Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, and Maur faced problems due to the road blockade. The police had diverted the traffic via Baliaanwali to Maiserkhana.
A resident of Mandi Kalan, Bhupinder Singh had accused a sub-inspector and another individual of harassing him in connection with a case registered under the NDPS Act in his suicide note. He committed suicide on Monday.
The sub-inspector was the investigating officer in the case in which Bhupinder was arrested under the NDPS Act in March last year.
However, deceased’s brother Parhlad Singh claimed that Bhupinder was innocent. The SSP had marked an inquiry to Maur DSP Davinder Singh, who found his brother innocent and his name was also dropped from the case, he added.
He alleged the sub-inspector and the other individual, who is a witness in the case, allegedly demanded Rs 6-7 lakh. They also threatened to testify against him, if he turned down their demand.
Later in the evening, Darshan Singh and Sukhjeet Kaur, parents of Bhupinder Singh, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister, Punjab, DGP and Human Rights Commission for justice and demanded action against the accused policeman.