Report on Bastara toll plaza violence likely next week

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 24

The term of Justice SN Aggarwal (retd) Commission of Inquiry into the Bastara toll plaza violence ended on Friday.

It was on extension till today. Sources said the report of the commission couldn’t be submitted as the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was preoccupied and now it was likely to be presented next week.

Justice Aggarwal, a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was appointed head of the Commission of Inquiry in September. The commission has inquired the entire sequence of events, leading to the incidents at Bastara toll plaza in Karnal on August 28.

Ayush Sinha, a 2018-batch IAS officer, was caught on tape while allegedly telling personnel to “break the heads” of protesting farmers if they breached the barricades near the spot where the BJP’s event was taking place in Karnal. Sinha was then SDM Karnal. The commission was to inquire into his role as well.

A lathicharge on farmers had taken place on August 28 at the Bastar toll plaza. They were trying to disrupt a BJP meeting. One farmer had died.

The incident had led to a standoff between the farmers and the state government.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) laid a siege to the Karnal mini-secretariat on September 7 as they were demanding action against Sinha and compensation for the farmers.

The talks remained inconclusive for four days, but later the government agreed to a judicial inquiry on September 11 and Justice Aggarwal Commission was set up to probe the violence.

Meanwhile, the Centre confirmed Ayush Sinha as IAS officer by a notification, dated December 14.