27 BSP activists who protested without masks in Hoshiarpur booked

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, June 28

The police booked 27 BSP activists for gathering outside the police station without wearing face masks on Sunday.

BSP activists had held a sit-in outside the Mehtiana police station on Friday. They were demanding that Section 452 of the IPC and the SC/ST Act should also be included in the FIR registered in connection with the June 19 assault in Khanauda village. They also raised questions over the working of the police. A police party, led by the DSP, reached the spot and assured the protesters that action would be taken against the assaulters within the next two days.

On the complaint of Sub-Inspector Neelam Kumari, the Mehtiana police have booked 27 BSP activists and several other unidentified persons under Sections 188, 149, 269 and 270 of the IPC, 51 of the Disaster Management Act and Section 3 of the Epidemic Act.

Fuming over the police’s move of registering an FIR, BSP activists held a press conference on Saturday demanding cancellation of the FIR. They also demanded transfer of the SSP. The BSP activists said they would meet the Chief Minister and the Governor and apprise them of the issue. They said if they did not get justice, they would intensify the struggle. BSP’s district head Mahindra Singh Sandhar; Daljit Rai, secretary, BSP Punjab; Maninder Singh Sherpuri, Omkar Singh Jhammat, Sukhdev Singh Bitta and Palvinder held a press conference at Hotel Shiraz Regency on Sunday and alleged that the government had posted no officer under 22 per cent reservation in the state. Dinesh Pappu, Madan Bains, Yash Bhatti, Sunny Bhilowal, Jagmohan Sajana, Harjeet Ladi, Narinder Khanoda, Vijay Khanpuri, Kuljeet Bhatoa and Surjit Mehmi were present on the occasion.