The winds of lawlessness sweeping Punjab in the poll-season on Thursday claimed another life in a firing incident and left three others seriously injured.
With the election scene turning bloody in the run up to May 19 Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, two persons have lost their lives in separate incidents within a period of 10 days or so.
Soon after an election rally, organised by the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) in favour of the joint candidate of the Congress and the PPP Malkit Singh, over a dozen unidentified persons fired at random in which one PPP activist, Jaspreet Singh Jassa, died on the spot.
Three persons, including senior PPP leader lakha Sidhana and son of the contesting candidate Rajwinder Singh, and another Balbir Singh got injured. The injured have been admitted at Adesh Hospital near Bathinda whereas seriously injured Rajwinder has been referred to ludhiana. Candidate Malkiat also suffered injuries.
Sources maintained that senior PPP leader lakha, who had contested the 2012 assembly election from Rampura Phull assembly constituency against Punjab education minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, was the main target.
The attackers fired more than 30 rounds of shots from close range at lakha, when he along with accomplices was heading towards the car after the rally, through four different weapons. Four bullets hit lakha in his shoulder, foot, and abdomen whereas more than 20 shots were fired at Jaspreet Singh and few shots at Rajwinder Singh. Also a year before, lakha Sidhana was fired at.
Denying any political rivalry in the firing incident, Bathinda SSP Ravcharan Brar had said that it is case of personal enmity. “Police has recovered 27 cartridges from the spot and it hoped about 30 shots were fired from four different weapons,” he added. Earlier, 22-year-old Youth Congress leader Sukhraj Singh Bhugupur was shot allegedly by Akali activists on May 8 after he filed nominations for a second term in Patti assembly constituency in Tarn Taran district.
A day before that, Congress MlA from Guru Har Sahai Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and other party workers entered into a brawl with the Akali workers during the filing of nomination in Mamdot area of Ferozepur district on Tuesday leaving Sodhi’s personal assistant injured allegedly after Akali supporters resorted to firing.
Cong demands President’s Rule
Expressing grave concern over ‘political violence’ against Congress candidates and workers during Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections, Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday demanded to impose President’s Rule in the border State.
Bajwa, in a hard-hitting statement, condemned the murderous attack on party’s joint candidate with PPP Malkiat Singh from Bhai Roopa Zone in Bathinda district at Adampur village.
He said that he would soon meet the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and request him to seek report from Punjab Governor on deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He also demanded from Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to send high-level team from the Centre to take stock of law and order situation in Punjab.
It’s a political murder: Manpreet
Dubbing it as a “political murder”, PPP chief and former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal condemned the incident. “lawlessness is prevalent in Punjab and the ruling SAD is openly supporting such elements…SAD is intimidating PPP workers as the CPI (M) workers are being made to face the wrath of ruling party in West Bengal. The PPP will not be a mute witness to such goondagardi and will oppose it tooth and nail,” he said.
Manpreet said that only 10 days back police had raided at lakha’s residence and had procured a licensed weapon registered in his mother’s name but has shown it having recovered from lakha.
Jakhar demands judicial probe
leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha demanded judicial probe into all incidences in which Congress leaders and workers had been attacked by the SAD-BJP.
Criticising the growing number of such cases, Jakhar said that the violent and murderous attack had evidently proved their charges that there was rule of total lawlessness in the state.
Police officials who did not get deposit the weapons should be taken to task, Jakhar demanded from Punjab Chief Election Commissioner.