No arrest of Jats who beat Fatehabad cops till talks conclude: SP

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Fatehabad, April 23

No action will be taken against Jat protesters who beat up policemen at Fatehbad Dhani Gopal last month until talks between the state government and Jat leaders conclude, a police officer said on Sunday.

Kuldeep Singh, who recently took over as superintendent of police of Fatehbad, said in his first interaction with the press, that will not make any arrests until the talks conclude.

Singh, who took over as SP on April 21, was transferred from Nur.

Twenty policemen, among them a deputy superintendent of police, and some media persons, as well as some protesters, were injured in clashes that broke out on March 19 as Jats were headed toward Delhi after All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti’s call for protests in the national capital.

Protesters have been accused of having set two buses ablaze and holding three journalists hostage.

Police claim the protesters were armed with sticks and sharp edged weapons.

Police booked 46 people under sections of the Indian Penal Code — including for attempted murder — as well as Arms and Damage to Public Property acts.

Another case of assault, illegal confinement and dacoity had been registered on the basis of complaints made by media persons.

However, on the same day, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had entered into a truce with Malik and the government as well as the Jats had constituted committees to hold meetings at regular intervals to review implementations of Jats’ demands accepted by the state government.

The DGP KP Singh, who had visited the injured cops a day after the incident, had announced that the guilty would not be spared and a stern action would be taken against them under the law.

Meanwhile, speaking on his priorities as new SP of Fatehabad district, Kuldeep Singh said that he would work towards eliminating problem of narcotic drugs in the district.