Another Bittu aide arrested

The Patiala police on Monday arrested a close aide of Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

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The action came following a complaint by a Lahori Gate resident, Ashu, who accused Bittu’s associate Rajesh Attri of making casteist remarks against him over a WhatsApp call on Sunday evening.

Attri is the second associate of Bittu arrested in the past two days. Earlier on Sunday, the Ludhiana police had arrested his close aide Rajiv Raja in an extortion case.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Satnam Singh said the complainant said in his complaint that he had dialled Attri’s phone number by mistake.

“During their conversation, Attri allegedly used derogatory words against the complainant,” the DSP said.

The police officer, however, said that since WhatsApp calls are end-to-end encrypted, hence untraceable. “That’s why we need to grill him in the case,” he said.

Relatives of Attri junked the charges and sought a thorough probe into the allegations. “The FIR was lodged merely on the statement of the complainant, whom Attri even doesn’t even know,” a relative said.

Minister’s associate in 2-day police custody

Meanwhile, a Ludhiana court sent Bittu’s aide Rajiv Raja to two-day police custody in an extortion case.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Ramandeep Singh Bhullar told the media that Raja was accused of involvement in an extortion call to a city-based businessman, Ravish Gupta.

He said Gupta had received a call, with some unknown callers demanding Rs 30 lakh from him.

The police have arrested three more people in the case, who according to the officer, revealed his involvement.

“We cannot comment about the exact role of Raja in the extortion case. The police are conducting a thorough probe and things will be clear soon," added Bhullar. --TNS