In a breather for 12 students, protesting against the Moga molestation incident, the Faridkot police on Thursday withdrew an attempt to murder charge against them minutes after the State Congress unit announced to stage a State-level dharna on May 18.
The 12 students, members of the Punjab Students’ Union (PSU), were arrested on May 6 for allegedly damaging a bus of an Akali transporter in Faridkot. The announcement by the police came at a time when the Congress workers, led by the State president Partap Singh Bajwa, were staging a dharna in front of the Faridkot jail.
To protest against the Moga molestation and death incident, the PSU had given a State-wide call to obstruct the entry of private buses, belonging to political leaders in Punjab on May 6. The students had planned to lay siege on these buses in towns.
Earlier, Bajwa had demanded “unconditional release” of the students detained in Faridkot jail by May 18 failing which the party would gherao the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police.
“These students have unnecessarily been detained and tortured while registering their protest against the death of young Arshdeep Kaur who had been molested and pushed out of speeding Orbit bus which was their democratic right,” he said.
Hundreds of Congress leaders and workers staged a dharna outside the Faridkot jail forcing the officials to make the announcement that Section 307 relating to attempt to murder case against these students had been withdrawn.
These arrested students included a 13-year student and a girl too. The parents of these students had also joined the dharna led by Bajwa. It was the framing of these students under Section 307 that had angered the people in the State. Buckling under pressure, the Government announced the revocation of this case at the dharna site.
Bajwa demanded the unconditional release of all these students immediately failing which the party would carry on with its next programme of action on May 18.
Meanwhile, People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal also strongly condemned the brutal torture of the students protesters including a 13-year old juvenile and a girl detained in Faridkot jail in the case of attack on a private bus.
“It is just shocking that these students were severely beaten up and tortured not just by the policemen but also by the men belonging to the transport company owned by a person close to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal whose bus was the target during protest. It seems we are not part of a civil society. The juvenile had to be referred to hospital as he complained of severe pain,” he said.