Uttarakhand Government has finally decided to transfer the police personal involved in the alleged indiscriminate lathi charge against the agitators, mostly women, who were protesting against the cops forcefully breaking the indefinite hunger strike of Hemanti Devi at Maletha of Tehri district on Saturday night. She had been on hunger strike for a number of days, demanding immediate cease of stone crushers functioning in the region. Notably, demanding the transfer of the cops responsible for the baton charge, the agitators blocked the Risikesh-Badrinath National Highway at Maletha for nearly two hours on Thursday.
For some time, the protestors allowed the pilgrims’ vehicles while blocking the Government vehicles and trucks. However, things turned into a full-fledged Chakka Jam, resulting in the commuters being inconvenienced. The vehicles remained stranded with the passengers sweating in the sweltering summer heat. Police reached when the blockade was about to end.
In another development, Sameer Raturi who had been on hunger strike since Sunday on the issue of stone crushers drank water on Thursday following appeal from the Chief Minister Harish Rawat. He is a senior leader of Save Himalaya Movement who has been spearheading the movement against stone crushers. It is learnt that SHO and Sub-Inspector of Kirtinagar police station has been transferred. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kirtinagar tehsil informed this on Friday. The SHO has been transferred to Munnikreti and Sub-Inspector has been sent to Aagrakhal in Tehri district. Meanwhile, hunger strikers Sameer Raturi and Suryaveer Singh Bisht vowed to continue till their demands were met.
“We would continue with our hunger strike till the State Government stops operation of all the stone crushers operating here,” Raturi warned. Meanwhile, former State Minister Deewakar Bhatt reached the agitation site in Maletha and lent his full weight to the movement. Notably, Garhwal commissioner CS Napalchayal had ordered an inquiry into the lathi charge on Tuesday and appointed chief development officer as the inquiry officer. The inquiry officer was asked to submit the report in two weeks.