The shocking incident of brutal killing of a 20-year-old youth in the poll bound Punjab has not only drawn condemnation from the political parties including the ruling BJP, but also acquired political overtones with elections just about three months away.
Main opposition party, the Congress, has alleged that the perpetrators had links to the ruling Akali Dal while demanding rigorous punishment for “all the culprits behind this barbaric act”. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also demanded immediate arrest of the accused responsible for brutal killing and dismembering of the body of dalit youth, Sukhchain Singh of Gharanghna village in Mansa district.
BJP, which is running Government with its ally SAD for past nine years, has condemned the incident while, at the same time, asking the leaders to refrain for politicising the same.
In fact, State BJP chief Vijay Sampla has called up State Director General of Police (DGP) Suresh Arora demanding stringent action against the accused.
Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh accused the Parkash Singh Badal Government of “unleashing a reign of terror” against the Dalits in the State.
locked in a bitter war of words with the Akali leadership, Capt Amarinder cited media reports to claim that two of the accused had links with the ruling party. They were the nephews of Gharanghna sarpanch whose father was the driver of the Chief Minister, he said.
“Dalits in the State are feeling extremely insecure and fear for their safety under the SAD rule,” he said while expressing shock and concern at the situation.
The former Chief Minister warned that these developments “can have serious consequences for the future of Punjab”. The Badal Government was “meticulously destroying” the secular character and peaceful environment of the state he added.
“It is clear that these atrocities are being committed against Dalits in Punjab, particularly in the Malwa belt, by those having the patronage of the SAD leadership,” he alleged while attacking State BJP chief Vijay Sampla, also a Dalit, for being a “mute spectator” to the “excesses”.
Punjab Congress leaders, meanwhile, alleged that there were several other instances of atrocities on Dalits in the State, including the fatal attack on Bhim Tank allegedly at liquor baron Shiv lal Doda’s farmhouse in Abohar.
They also claimed that in Sangrur, at least two dozen Dalit families have fled the village a week after upper caste landlords allegedly supported by local SAD leaders had targeted the community in Jalaur over the issue of cultivation of common land.
Highlighting the liquor mafia running in the State, Capt Amarinder said: “With the state’s liquor mafia being backed by the Akalis, the Badal Government now stands completely exposed for its anti-Dalit policies.”
Congress MlA Sunil Jakhar also criticised the ruling Government of SAD-BJP Government for patronising the liquor mafia in the State. “All the cases involving the liquor mafia should be clubbed together and CBI should enquire into it under the supervision of a sitting judge,” he said.
He went on to announce that if Congress comes to power, “a commission of enquiry will be set up to probe the nexus between politicians and liquor contractors”. Congress legislature Party (ClP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi also demanded immediate arrest of all the culprits who are involved in the “barbaric act”.
He said: “The culprits won’t be let free this time as this Government is in habit of making compromise with the culprits and later letting them free. This has happened in every SIT, which was made by this present regime for fair inquiry, but none of the families got justice.”
Assailing Badal for continuous deterioration of law and order, Channi said that the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhbir Badal’s only contribution was creation of the mafia and gangs that had made Punjab amongst the most unsafe states.
“These ruling party leaders had turned so thick skinned that they just don’t bother about the deteriorating situation as their only objective was to loot this State,” he said.
SAMPlA CAllED DGP, DEMAND STRICT ACTION
Taking strong notice of the recent attacks on dalit community in Mansa and Sangrur districts, Punjab BJP president and the Union Minister of State’s for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla on Wednesday called up the state police chief demanding stringent action against the accused.
Terming the incidents as “unfortunate”, Sampla said: “Both cases may have different social and regional antecedents, and they are being inquired into. I assure that the victims will be provided justice at each and every cost.” Sampla’s remarks come in the backdrop of the gruesome murder of a Dalit youth in Gharangana village of Mansa and the fleeing of dalit families from Jalaur village in Sangrur after last week’s violence.
At the same time, Sampla directed the party’s vice-president Rajkumar Pathi and general secretary Kewal Kumar to visit the aggrieved families in Sangrur and Mansa respectively.
He asked both the leaders to prepare a report and help rebuild the confidence of the victims.
Meanwhile, condemning the incident, BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh urged the state government to probe the matter, nab the culprits and assure that they were handed over strictest possible punishment for this inhuman act. Also criticizing Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh for politicizing a “highly sensitive issue”, Chugh said that in the past too, instead of acting responsibly, Capt Amarinder had been trying to provoke the people just to gain some political brownie points.
“It is sorry to note that in the process, Capt Amarinder forgets that it is the duty of the people in high positions to ensure that peace and communal harmony prevails in the state,” he said.
AAP DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ARREST OF ACCUSED
Criticizing Punjab government and the State Police in failing to provide security to the residents, AAP state convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi) said that law and order situation has gone from bad to worst in the state during present Akali-BJP regime.
“The incident is the horrifying reminder of the Bhim Tank murder case of Abohar and shows that drug and liquor mafia patronage by Akali leaders is killing dalits every day without any fear of Police,” said Ghuggi.
He said that the lives of dalits and poor are not safe under SAD-BJP rule as they themselves are behind every atrocity in the state. Same had happened in the Abohar murder case where SAD’s halqa in-charge, Shiv lal Doda, was directly involved in the murder of Bhim Tank and now in this case the killers also have VIP links.