Moga Mayor accused of assault by contractor, high court orders police probe

About two months after an alleged confrontation between Moga Mayor Baljit Singh Channi and former contractor Santokh Singh — over the revival of a defunct sewer line near the Kotkapura bypass — the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Moga SSP to personally investigate and file a status report by September 11.

Santokh Singh approached the high court, alleging that the mayor attacked him, causing injuries; and that the police failed to act on his complaint.

The altercation reportedly began when Santokh Singh arrived at the site with municipal machinery to restore a sewer line that had been out of service for nearly four years. He claimed to have done so with the local MLA’s knowledge to prevent the wastage of Rs 1.70 crore allocated for laying a new line.

It is alleged that the mayor opposed it, saying the sewer line was officially declared defunct and that the revival attempt was unauthorised. An argument followed, and both parties accused each other of hurling bricks and verbal threats. It is alleged that Channi drew his revolver in self-defence after Santokh tried to assault him. No shots were fired.

Santokh claimed that, despite submitting medical reports confirming injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma, as well as CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, and photographs of the incident to the police, no FIR was registered against the mayor — prompting him to seek judicial intervention.