A day after a Bathinda cop was assaulted allegedly by Akali kin, the opposition parties in Punjab — the Congress and the Aam Adami Party (AAP) — on Sunday condemned the incident demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.
Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that the Badals had plunged Punjab into pre-Independence anarchic days, treating Government servants like owned slaves, to be abused and humiliated at will. At the same time, AAP maintained that the Akali rule was “worst that that of British”.
Head Constable Malkit Singh was mercilessly beaten up and “paraded naked” late Saturday evening allegedly by the sons of Virk Kalan sarpanch, who is reportedly aligned with the SAD, and also forcing him to lick boots.
Condemning the shocking incident of “mercilessly” beating up of Bathinda cop and parading him naked by the “power-drunk” sons of an Akali sarpanch, Capt Amarinder said that the “ignominious manner” in which head constable was thrashed and then publicly humiliated by being paraded naked and even made to lick the boots of the sons of Vir Kalan sarpanch was a “grim reminder of the extent to which the Badal-led Akalis have stooped in their megalomaniac obsession for power”.
Extending his support to the aggrieved cop, Captain Amarinder demanded immediate arrests of the culprits, asserting that such assaults on public servants could not be tolerated. “The gravity of the act demands immediate and strong action against those guilty of the heinous act,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said that the incident, which reflected the complete collapse of law and order in the state ahead of the Assembly elections, was symptomatic of the shameful depths to which the Akalis had stooped in their treatment of the people.
Capt Amarinder vowed to bring every Akali guilty of such criminal acts to book. “I will personally ensure that every one of them is thrown behind bars,” he promised.
He pointed out that this was not the first incidence of Akali leaders unleashing violence and terror against cops and ordinary citizens of the state alike. In September, an ex-Akali sarpanch and his accomplices had thrashed a head constable in Batala. A woman was beaten up at the Prime Minister’s rally just a couple of weeks ago as she tried to raise her voice against an injustice.
Blaming the Badals for this lawlessness, he said that it was the result of their direct patronage of goondas and mafias in the state. “Even now, instead of making an effort to amend the situation, the Badals are busy finding ways to woo the voters through electoral sops and promises to cover up their lapses of last 10 years,” he said.
IMMEDIATElY ARREST AND REGISTER A CASE AGAINST AKAlI lEADERS: AAP
Criticising the incident, AAP’s Punjab convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi) said: “The power-drunk Akali leaders are killing common people every day and now have reached up to the level of beating and insulting public servants on duty.”
He demanded immediate arrest and registering a case against Akali leaders who assaulted a public servant on duty.
Ghuggi said: “Akali rule is worst that that of British rule where people were being killed mercilessly by the representatives of ruling party. The government itself is saving skin of those committing crimes as they belong to the ruling party.”
“After formation of the AAP Government in Punjab, such cases will be reinvestigated and the culprits will be put behind the bars.” said Waraich.