A few hours after some BJP youth wing activists were arrested by the police in Pithoragarh district on Saturday under section of 151 while they were staging a protest against the Chief Minister Harish Rawat in Munsyari, the State BJP general secretary (organisation) Naresh Bansal alleged that the Congress-led Government was out to throttle the voice of the Opposition by blatantly misusing the Government machinery. He further said that a senior Congress leader had also beaten them with a rifle butt. Talking to The Pioneer, Pithoragarh SP Ajay Joshi said that five youths from BJP’s youth wings who were staging protest along the way the CM’s cavalcade was to pass were arrested as part of preventive measure. They were later released on bail, he added.
While addressing a press conference in Dehradun, the BJP leader Naresh Bansal said that the former MlA Harish Dhami had beaten the youths mercilessly with a rifle butt after he snatched the rifle from police. “It reveals that since Harish Rawat Government was installed the people have been living under the shadow of fear. They were beaten when they led by Jagat Singh Martolia were going to submit a memorandum to the CM. Some goons led by Dhami were unleashed on them at the behest of the CM. We have submitted a video footage to the police and also lodged a complaint,” he said.
He said that police should act according to the rules without coming under the influence of the ruling party leaders. He demanded the election commission and DGP to conduct thorough probe into the incident and book the guilty. “This is an imperative in view of the fact that the state is fast heading towards the election,” he said.