Congress workers booked for poll-related incidents in Jalandhar

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, May 11

Just a day after the Opposition had lodged complaints against outsider Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and workers for their presence around booths during polling for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection, many Congress workers were booked today for poll-related incidents.

Aap Mla out on bail

On allegations that AAP MLA Tong had not been named in the FIR, Jalandhar (Rural) SSP said, “The name of the MLA came later. We arrested and released him on bail.”

Even as Vikramjit Chaudhary, Phillaur MLA and son of Congress candidate Karamjit Chaudhary, went live on Facebook yesterday after having apprehended two AAP workers from Bathinda and handed them over to the police, he alleged that no action had been taken against them. Instead, three of the MLA’s supporters have been booked by the police at Goraya. Sunny Sandhu of Chandigarh and Ashok Pople and Yogesh Handa of Ludhiana have been booked for being present at a booth near Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), Goraya, and the FIR mentions that they are the MLA Chaudhary’s accomplices.

Six firs so far

The Jalandhar Commissionerate and Jalandhar (Rural) police have registered six bypoll-related FIRs at various police stations in poll-related incidents

Likewise Shahkot Congress MLA Hardev S Laddi Sherowalia showed the copies of the FIR after he had gheraoed AAP Baba Bakala MLA Dalbir Singh Tong. He said the FIR did not have the name of the MLA either in the column of accused or the details mentioned underneath.

“Instead it is against five unknown persons. We gave them the details of the cars used and their registration numbers, even that has not been included. I or my supporters who had gheraoed him have not been taken as complainants and instead SHO Baljit Singh is himself the complainant and it mentions that the FIR has been lodged on the basis of a video on social media.”

Laddi further rued, “Instead, I and my Congress workers have been booked in another FIR. This is sheer vendetta against us by the government. But we are strong and ready to face it all.”

A senior police official confirmed about the lodging of the FIR.

Congress councillor from ward no 78 Jagdish Samrai claimed that he was beaten up badly in Arya Nagar on May 9.

“I had been directed by my senior leadership to visit this area about 2 km away from my locality as there had been reports about liquor distribution by the AAP leaders,” adding that, “No FIR has been filed.”