Met DGP 3 days before Patiala violence: Shiv Sena Punjab chief

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur, May 2

Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) state chief Yog Raj Sharma has claimed he had met DGP VK Bhawra three days before the Patiala incident and apprised him that “a potentially volatile situation was developing there”. He claimed he had simultaneously sent a PDF file to a senior police officer on his mobile phone “detailing how some disgruntled Sena leaders would be defying government orders.”

The claim comes amid Gurdaspur police placing senior Sena leaders under house arrest. Sources said the cops were acting on orders from Chandigarh.

Speaking for the first time after the Patiala clash, Pathankot-based Sharma said he failed to comprehend as to why the police did not react to inputs given by him to the DGP and other officers.

Sharma claimed he had met the DGP on April 26 in Chandigarh. “Rajinder Kumar Billa, senior vice-president of the Punjab unit, also accompanied me. We told the DGP about the proposed march in Patiala and also informed him it would be led by Harish Singla. Still, it beats me why the police did not react. Were the cops under pressure or was it plain negligence?” he said.

On placing Sena leaders under house-arrest, Gurdaspur SSP Harjit Singh said: “Yes, some leaders have been put under house-arrest. It is a preventive measure.” Harvinder Soni and Rohit Mahajan, both vice-presidents of the Punjab unit, and Honey Mahajan, youth wing leader, have been asked not to leave their premises. “If they have to attend to some important engagement, they should take permission,” said a senior officer.

In Pathankot, Sharma and other leaders have been put under the police lens.

Stop victimising cops, govt urged

• Citing cases of alleged victimisation of cops, CPM leader Sukhwinder Sekhon in Mandi Ahmedgarh alleged the government had been shifting its responsibility on the police
• “Instead of appreciating cops for the tactful handling of a violent situation in Patiala, the government is discriminating against them,” he said
• All-India Kisan Sabha leader Baldev Singh Latala feared officials, including senior functionaries of the Punjab Police, would soon go on the defensive in case their victimisation was not stopped OC