Police case lodged against Attari sarpanch after visit to BDPO
The newly elected Sarpanch of Attari has been booked after he raised his voice seeking development of the village at the Block Development and Panchayat Office (BDPO). The farmer unions staged a protest today against the BDPO and demanded that the case be withdrawn. According to information received, Attari village Sarpanch Gurpreet Singh had visited the BPDO office on January 9 to get record registers to execute development works. He alleged in a live video that on the directions of local MLA, the panchayat officials deliberately did not issue him the records. In the absence of registers, he had no authority to pay the daily wage workers and panchayat employees. Sarpanch Gurpreet Singh had alleged that the MLA of the Attari constituency and panchayat officials were deliberately obstructing works relating to the village’s development.
In an attempt to expose the matter, Gurpreet Singh uploaded the video on social media site Facebook in which he stated that the public had elected him to ensure progress in the village, but the department, under the influence of the MLA, was preventing any development initiatives. Recently, the video went viral and social media users reportedly abused the MLA and panchayat officials.
Following this, officials of the Panchayat Department lodged a complaint against Gurpreet Singh, claiming that he used inappropriate language inside a government office. They also alleged that making the video was an unlawful act. The Gharinda police station registered a case against the Sarpanch.
Vikramjit Singh, Block Development and Panchayat Officer, said, “The Sarpanch had created nuisance at a government office and uploaded the video on Facebook. The video is still online and people are blaming the panchayat department in their comments. So, the panchayat secretaries have given a written application to take action. Following this, we filed a police complaint and the police booked him.”
After a case was registered, farmer organisations and local villagers staged a protest outside the BDPO office. The demonstrators argued that Gurpreet Singh had stood up for the development of the village and was unfairly targeted. They demanded that the case against the Sarpanch be withdrawn immediately.
Nirmal Singh Modhe, farmer union leader, said, “We have protested as the Sarpanch had only demanded records from the Panchayat Secretary. Instead of cooperating with him, the panchayat department filed a police case against him and he was falsely implicated.”
Gharinda police officials confirmed that a case was registered against Gurpreet Singh for recording a video inside a government office and using inappropriate language. They stated that the matter was currently under investigation and the DSP Attari would initiate a probe. The police assured the farmer union leaders that the case would be cancelled soon.