The high security “no-protest zone” in Chandigarh’s Sector 2, area near Punjab Chief Minister’s official residence, on Friday turned into a protest ground.
As the State Congress leaders, including MPs and MlAs, continued with their protest against Punjab Government’s “high handedness” against the party leaders in ludhiana for the second consecutive day, they were joined by more protesters including the State party chief Capt Amarinder Singh and state party affairs in-charge Asha Kumari, besides others.
That is not all! The number of protesters increased further as the families of war martyrs and home guard personnel, killed on duty, also decided to stage protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence on Friday.
Considered to be the posh area, it is strictly a no-protest zone with Section 144 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance of apprehended danger) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) imposed at all times prohibiting Assembly of five or more people.
Notwithstanding, the Congress leaders and “aggrieved” hold dharnas, laying seize to Badal’s residence, as the police present there could not do much. So much so that Badal had to sneak out from the backdoor to leave for his native village in Muktsar.
Congress leaders, led by ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, had started protest dharna on Thursday outside the main gate of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s residence. Even as Badal failed to pacify the agitating leaders, they continued their dharna through the night, till the time of filing the report, over the ‘chitta’ Raavan controversy.
Congress leaders, including senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly Charanjit Singh Channi, have been demanding action against senior police officers in ludhiana who failed to avert the clash between Congress and Akali workers on Monday and later booked Congress leaders. They accused the Punjab Police of high-handedness.
Badal, who came out of his residence on Thursday evening, had ordered Director General of Police Suresh Arora to probe the violent clash between activists of the ruling SAD youth wing and the opposition Congress on Dussehra eve in ludhiana. Following directions from Badal, the DGP left for ludhiana for an on-the-spot inquiry into Monday evening’s incident.
Going into background of the matter, the Congress leaders in ludhiana had put up an effigy of a ‘chitta’ (colloquial term for drugs in Punjab) Raavan during Dussehra celebrations to highlight the State Government’s alleged failure to curb the drug menace in Punjab.
The clash left a few Congress leaders, including the ludhiana-urban unit president Gurpreet Gogi, injured. Vehicles of Congress leaders were also damaged. Bittu was saved during the clash by his security personnel.
Punjab Police later arrested a youth Congress leader Parvinder lapran, and five others. Jakhar alleged that the probe was an eyewash and earlier probes by the Punjab Police into major incidents of crime had yielded nothing.
The opposition party leaders alleged that ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh and additional deputy commissioner of police Jaswinder Singh were behaving like Akali Dal agents and targeting Congress leaders and activists.