RMPI members protest over Tapiala firing probe delay

AMRITSAR: The Revolutionary Marxist party of India (RMPI) on Thursday held a demonstration at Lopoke police station over cops’ failure to file challan in connection with the firing incident in Tapiala that took place in August 2017, claiming a Dalit’s life and injuring several persons over a land dispute.

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 21

The Revolutionary Marxist party of India (RMPI) on Thursday held a demonstration at Lopoke police station over cops’ failure to file challan in connection with the firing incident in Tapiala that took place in August 2017, claiming a Dalit’s life and injuring several persons over a land dispute.

They alleged that the police were deliberately not presenting the challan in the court under the influence their political masters. Rattan Singh Randhawa, state secretary of the party, said the police had arrested the prime accused at that time while over 20 persons were nominated in the FIR. Not presenting challan before the court is an attempt to weaken the case, thereby refusing justice to the victims, he said.

DSP Dinesh Singh and Lopoke SHO Harpal Singh said the inquiry was still under progress so challan was not filed. He said they would do it in a few days.

Decades old land dispute took an ugly turn on August 20, 2017 when a group of armed persons attacked residents in Tapiala village, leaving Sukhdev Singh shot dead. Sections 302, 307, 452, 323, 447, 511 and 506 of the IPC and 25, 27, 54, 59 under the Arms Act and 3, 4 of the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Caste Act were slapped.

The state government had in 1974 acquired around 22 kanals and 15 marlas of land in the village to provide residential plots to people of the economically weak section of society under Indira Awas Yojana. It was allotted to around 95 families at that time.

However, Sukhbir Kaur, a resident of the village, later claimed that the land belonged to her and it was sold to the government by unscrupulous elements in a fraudulent manner. She filed a case in the court and the verdict came in her favour. But various labour unions, including Dehati Mazdoor Sabha and Jamhoori Kishan Sabha, started an agitation over the issue and decided not to vacate the land. She filed a case before a sessions court and later the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) which too delivered the judgement in her favour. The HC ordered the police to get the land vacated and hand it over to her. Nonetheless, the labour unions did not budge and started a protest.