‘Goonda tax’ continues run in Bathinda, despite orders

Perneet Singh & Gagandeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 16

Even as Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has directed the DGP to crack down on “goonda tax” collection near the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery here, transporters alleged that the malpractice was still prevalent in the area.

Pleading anonymity, a transporter said 8-10 aides of a local transporter involved in collecting “goonda tax” were camping at Narang Chowk near the refinery in two cars having Haryana registration numbers, while he himself stood outside the Rama police post nearby.

He added: “Very few vehicles were plying on the road leading to the refinery. We have stopped lodging complaints with the police as nothing seems to have changed on the ground despite our repeated pleas. Though the Chief Minister has taken note of ‘goonda tax’, we don’t have much hope.”

Meanwhile, the private company that came out in the open against hooliganism by local transporters last week took up the matter with Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, who was here today. Northern Logistic (P) Ltd director Gaurav Garg said, “We have given a representation to the minister, who assured us that action will be initiated against such elements soon.”

He said they had not sent their vehicles to the refinery after a local transporter and his aides snatched original documents of their trucks and Rs 1.3 lakh from their staff on February 8. He confirmed that there was not much movement of trucks on the road leading to the refinery when he visited the area today.

“We can’t confront them. We can only take legal recourse. We are now waiting for the government to act against the local transporters who are resorting to hooliganism,” Garg added.

Bathinda SSP Naveen Singla said they would not allow anybody to collect “goonda tax” from the transporters at the refinery. He added that the police were verifying the complaints received, adding that strict action would be taken against those involved.

Take action: SAD to govt

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday asked the Congress government not to pay lip service on ‘goonda tax’ being extorted from transporters at the Bathinda refinery "in the form of JST (Jojo Service Tax) and take concrete action on the ground by registering a case against the perpetrators and arresting them within 24 hours. “It is a known fact that in Manpreet Badal's absence, his brother-in-law Jaijeet Singh Johal (Jojo) calls the shots in the constituency. No local police officer can be expected to take action against him. A sitting judge of the High Court should probe the matter,” former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said. TNS