SAD leader, others booked for ‘thrashing’ Dalit women

Our Correspondent

Abohar, July 25

Abohar circle SAD president Ashok Ahuja, his brother Vijay Ahuja, cousins Janak Raj Ahuja, Rajiv Bhatia, Sunny Bhatia and Ved Parkash and some other locals have been booked for allegedly thrashing four Dalit women, who were picking rags from a street here.

A case has been registered under Sections 323, 509, 354, 342, 316-A, 109, 511, 336 and 149 of the IPC and the SC & ST Act, 1989. Deputy Superintendent of Police Gurbinder Singh Sangha will investigate the case.

Ashok had taken over as SAD “halqa incharge” following the arrest of liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda in the Bhim Tank murder case in January 2016. He also served as senior Vice-President in the Municipal Council.

A case is already pending against him, besides other SAD activists, for illegally entering the Fazilka jail to meet Doda in January this year after the announcement of the Vidhan Sabha elections.

BJP legislator Arun Narang described it as a case of “political vendetta” claiming that Ashok and Janak were not present there and they had been “falsely” implicated.

As per the FIR, Kajal (22), a married Dalit woman of Thakur Abadi here, alleged that when she along with Sapna, Rekha and Radha were picking rags from a street yesterday, Vijay accused them of committing theft in his house. They refuted the allegation, but his accomplices dragged the women inside a house where they were allegedly thrashed and molested by miscreants who claimed they had instructions and support of SAD leader Ashok.

Preliminary investigation reportedly indicated that Kajal, who was pregnant, started bleeding due to thrashing. She has been hospitalised.

A video that has gone viral shows four women surrounded by a dozen persons on the rooftop of a house. One of the persons carrying a lathi is seen forcing a woman remove her dupatta from her face and another is seen misbehaving with another woman.