Fatehabad BJP leader sent in judicial custody

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Fatehabad, July 4

The police today arrested BJP leader Vijay Goyal for thrashing DHBVN officials who had gone to his house to check theft of electricity yesterday. Meanwhile, local BJP leaders have alleged that the incident has “some other dimensions”.

Goyal was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Vikas Gupta, who sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. The DHBVN has also imposed a fine of nearly Rs 1 lakh on Goyal for power theft.

The police had yesterday booked Goyal and his family members for causing hurt, theft, criminal intimidation and deterring public servants from duty under sections 332, 353, 186, 379 B, 341, 506 and 34 of the IPC after Bhajan Singh, SDO in the DHBVN, alleged that he and his team members were beaten up when they went to Goyal’s house on a tip off and detected power theft.

Meanwhile, the local BJP unit has come out in Goyal’s support and has demanded an impartial inquiry alleging “highhandedness” by DHBVN officials.

“The SDO and other officials did not go to Goyal’s residence with the motive of checking power theft, but with other intentions. This needs to be probed impartially, ” alleged Ved Phullan, district president of the BJP in Fatehabad. Phullan, however, refused to divulge what he means by other dimensions.

“We did not interfere with the police action against our member because a video clip shows Goyal and his family members thrashing DHBVN officials. However, the police have not tried to find out why DHBVN SDO Bhajan Singh went there. Had he detected power theft, he would have collected evidence and done mandatory paper work there and then. His statement that he filmed power theft with his mobile phone but Goyal deleted it does not hold water. If a Junior Engineer and two other junior officials accompanied the SDO, he will not himself film the video,” Phullan said.

He added that the district BJP unit would ensure that “guilty” officials were brought to book after an impartial probe.

The SDO was admitted to hospital with a torn shirt while Goyal’s wife Sudha Rani was also shifted to hospital with a complaint of pain in abdomen and high blood pressure. Both have lodged complaints against each other, but the police yesterday registered an FIR against Goyal and his relatives on the SDO’s complaint.