Man consumes poisonous substance at Punjab police station, alleges bribe demand
A man allegedly consumed a poisonous substance inside a police station in Punjab's Barnala district on Thursday, accusing police officials of demanding money for providing a copy of the daily diary report (DDR) related to his car, which was damaged in a fire.
Jobanpreet Singh, a resident of Bhathlan village, was taken to a hospital after consuming the substance at Dhanaula police station. He is currently undergoing treatment.
In a purported video circulating on social media, Jobanpreet claimed that his car caught fire 17 days ago and that he had repeatedly visited the police station to get a DDR for an insurance claim.
He alleged that a police official demanded a bribe for providing the DDR copy and accused him of deliberately setting the car on fire. Jobanpreet also named a patwari in connection with an ongoing land dispute in Balian village of Sangrur.
A police official, however, said Jobanpreet was under depression due to a land dispute.
The official said police registered a DDR concerning the damaged vehicle after Jobanpreet visited the station on Wednesday and asked him to collect its copy the following day.
When he returned to the station on Thursday morning, the station house officer asked him to wait as he was attending a video conference. Jobanpreet then consumed the poisonous substance, the official said.
The incident comes days after two similar cases in Punjab. On September 20, a man from Sangrur's Namol village attempted suicide outside the district administrative complex, alleging that a local sarpanch had threatened him after he posted a video about alleged drug supply in his village.
In another case, Gulzar Singh allegedly died by suicide in Sangrur on September 7 after consuming pesticide. His family alleged that he had been harassed and subjected to casteist slurs after questioning Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about drug supply at an event in Dirba. (with inputs from PTI)
