57 booked for ‘wrongfully restraining’ Negi in Seraj

Congress leader Jagdish Reddy lodged an FIR against 57 persons at Janjehli police station in the Seraj Assembly constituency of Mandi district last evening. He alleged that Revenue and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi was wrongfully restrained by protesters during his visit to Seraj yesterday. The incident took place when the minister was visiting flood and landslide-affected areas in Janjheli and Thunag, which are part of the Seraj Assembly constituency.

According to the complaint, a group of BJP supporters, led by Kamal Chand Rana, Gulzari Lal and others, allegedly blocked minister Negi’s way at the Thunag Rest House, showed black flags to him and raised anti-government slogans. The mob wrongfully restrained the minister for nearly two hours, preventing him from proceeding further to assess the damage in the disaster-hit areas.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 126(2), 189(2), 191(2) and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police confirmed that three FIRs had been registered in connection with the incident.

Mandi SP Sakshi Verma said, “More than 50 persons have been booked under various sections of the BNS for obstructing and wrongfully restraining the Revenue Minister during his official visit. The matter is being investigated and appropriate legal action will follow.”