Bajrang Dal protest continues, cops fail to arrest accused

Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 28

Bajrang Dal activists held a protest at Bharat Nagar Chowk today, demanding the arrest of principal Dharam Singh Sandhu, Prof Neelam Bhardwaj and others, for hurting the religious sentiments of the community.

The protest lasted for over an hour and ended only after the police assured action within a day. Due to the protest, the traffic also remained disrupted at the busiest intersection.

Chetan Malhotra of Bajrang Dal, along with the members of the Dal, had blocked Bharat Nagar Chowk on Sunday morning. A strong police force was also deployed at the spot to tackle any kind of urgency. Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) Sameer Verma, SHO of Division No 8 police station and other police officials also reached the spot to calm down the protestors.

Chetan said the police had earlier assured that the principal and others booked in the case registered under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code at Division No 8 would be arrested by Friday but no action was taken. They made a hollow promise and no arrests were made. “We held the agitation today to show the might of Bajrang Dal activists to the police. ACP Verma, who was present during the protest, told us to talk to DCP Ashwani Kapoor who assured that action in the case will be taken on merit and anyone found guilty will be arrested. Based on this promise, we lifted the dharna. If the police do not arrest the accused by Monday, we will protest again at Bharat Nagar Chowk and that will be for an indefinite period,” Chetan added.

When contacted, DCP Ashwani Kapoor told The Tribune that he had asked the Bajrang Dal activists to visit his office on Monday and he would discuss the present status of the case with them.” We have registered an FIR under Section 295-A of the IPC and our probe is on. Action will be taken on merit against anyone found guilty.

ADCP misbehaves, complaint submitted to DCP

Chetan Malhotra said when they called one of the women ADCP rank officer over the phone to enquire about the delay in arresting the accused, she talked rudely and misbehaved with them. “We have complained against the officer to the DCP and action will be sought against her,” he added.