6 injured in Patiala clashes; swords, sticks used

At least six persons sustained minor injuries in sporadic violence that marred the Municipal Corporation elections in Patiala today as supporters of various parties brandished swords, iron rods and sticks, and hurled stones to scare their rivals away and to prevent voters from casting their ballot.

During a visit to Sher-e-Punjab Market, The Tribune team found the election booths of the SAD and the Congress being vandalised. “Rowdy youths warned the voters not to step out of their houses or be ready to face the consequences. Even women voters weren’t spared and were pushed around. All this happened in the presence of the police,” said a resident. He claimed similar scenes were witnessed in the Arya Samaj and Model Town areas where “bouncers” and “outsiders” tried to intimidate rivals and the voters. With armed troublemakers roaming in SUVs and two-wheelers, several voters gave polling a miss. AAP, Congress, BJP and Akali workers accused each other of taking the law into their hands.

In one of the wards, the spouse of an Akali candidate climbed atop a water tank while in another, a BJP candidate tried to pour kerosene on himself. He was rounded up by police. An elderly couple was caught amid stone-pelting when several youths, with their faces covered, tried to capture a booth in Jhujhar Nagar. A few rounds were reportedly fired into the air in one of the wards.

Patiala SSP Nanak Singh visited the violence-hit wards and directed the police personnel to take the miscreants to task.

The BJP filed complaints with the State Election Commission and demanded registration of an FIR against AAP MLAs Chetan Singh Jauramajra and Gurlal Singh and their supporters. “All these outsiders were roaming in ward number 40 and intimidating the voters to cast ballot in favour of the AAP candidate,” read one of the complaints.

Sukhdeep Singh of SST Nagar said lawlessness prevailed on the streets when he reached a booth to cast his vote. “Armed goons got off their vehicles and tried to scare us away,” he said.

By late afternoon, violence was reported in several wards of Jhujhar Nagar, SST Nagar and Old City area and ward numbers 4, 6, 19, 22, 26, 40 and 52. Punjab Youth Congress chief Mohit Mohindra alleged that democracy had died in Patiala today.

“The ruling party’s goons roamed freely, brandishing swords, threatening (workers in) opposition booths and suppressing voters. The city resembles a cartel-run town, not a democracy. Law and order has collapsed and the police are complicit in this chaos. If any civilian is harmed or a life is lost, the responsibility lies with the administration. Power-hungry politics has turned ‘Aam Aadmi’ into tyrants,” he posted on X.

Senior AAP spokesperson Neel Garg refuted the claims of violence. He said the polling happened in a transparent manner. “Instead of blaming AAP, the Congress, BJP and the Akali Dal should work hard to face the voters,” he said.

The Patiala SSP said they had registered an FIR at the Civil Lines police station against “outsiders, several of them bouncers”. “No written complaint was received from the BJP or their leaders against the presence of any MLAs from outside the city. Barring stray incidents of violence, the polling was peaceful,” he said.