Peacefully protesting Tazpur residents demand probe into police ‘assault’

Residents of Tazpur and nearby villages have called for an investigation into the alleged police “assault” on peaceful protesters.

The incident involved supporters of candidates for the Tazpur Multipurpose Agricultural Cooperative Society Limited elections and occurred on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

The protestors demanded action against officials of the cooperative department. The officials had allegedly declared candidates, supported by the Aam Aadmi Party, won uncontested by cancelling nomination papers of all 16 candidates launched by the Congress.

Protestors alleged that those injured in cane charge by the police were not allowed to avail medical treatment at either of the civil hospitals at Raikot and Pakhowal.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Raikot Simardeep Singh, on the other hand, claimed that the police had to resort to mild cane charge. This was done to disperse unauthorised gatherings of the protestors who had blocked entry to premises where polling staff was detained illegally by them.

Singh said the police had also registered a case against a group of protestors led by Sarpanch Hardev Kaur.

Perusal of an FIR registered at Raikot Sadar Police revealed that Hardev Kaur, Gurjinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Hardeep Singh, Gurjant Singh and Baljit Singh along with 30-35 unknown persons were booked under Sections 132, 221, 127 (6), 296, 190, 194 (2) and 351(1) of the

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly detaining polling staff by locking the premises of cooperative society and attacking the police party that came to rescue the government personnel deployed on election duty late night on Thursday.

Congress activists led by Sarpanch Hardev Kaur alleged that the Returning Officer Surinder Singh had allegedly cancelled nomination papers of all the 16 candidates to appease the AAP legislator Hakam Singh by declaring a panel of six AAP supported candidates won unanimously on Thursday.

Kaur alleged that Singh had been appointed as Returning Officer in violation of rules stated by the cooperative department.

Kaur alleged that the police had mercilessly beaten peacefully protesting residents, including women, when they were protesting against the administration’s move to debar members of the cooperative society from contesting election by cancelling their forms on flimsy grounds.

The Fatehgarh Sahib MP, Dr Amar Singh Boparai, said he had taken the issue to senior functionaries in Ludhiana district administration and cooperative department to get the declaration void and seek justice for the victims of alleged police atrocity.

“Having learnt about the sequence of events leading to merciless beating of peacefully protesting residents and subsequence denial of medical treatment I have urged senior functionaries in the administration to get the matter probed and announce election process afresh,” said Boparai threatening to launch agitation in case justice is denied.

Meanwhile, Returning Officer Surinder Singh has issued a list of eight candidates who were declared elected from Zone 1 and Zone 2 of the society.

Sukhwinder Singh, Gurmit Kaur, Sarabjit Singh, Kirpal Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Gurmit Singh were elected from Zone 1, Tazpur, while Jagminder Pal Singh and Gurwinder Singh were declared elected from Zone 2, Buraj Hakiman. Returning Officer had earlier issued a list of 24 candidates whose nomination papers were received for the election, but no information was provided about the cancellation of 16 nominations.