Congress candidate alleges police targeted supporter in Ludhiana ration distribution case

Time of India

6 hours ago

Ludhiana: High-voltage drama was witnessed in Jawahar Nagar area on Wednesday afternoon, as Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu had an altercation with the police when they tried to detain a Congress supporter from the area.
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While the police claimed that they received a complaint against the man for threatening and slapping a man by accusing him of accepting ration from the opposition party ahead of polls, the Congress leader stated that the entire episode is available on Facebook Live, in which everyone could see that the Congress supporter was only capturing a video of a man taking two sacks of ration.
The video also captured that the man parked his scooter easily on the side and left, saying 'meri video te na bana' (at least don't capture me in the video).
Thereafter, the man walked away.
Congress claimed that their supporter, Lakhan, called the police to act on the recovery of ration; however, they did not come there at that moment. Later, a police team, comprising Inspector Bikramjit Singh Ghuman, SHO at Division Number 5 police station, and in-charge Kochar Market police post Dharampal Chaudhary, reached the spot with other personnel and tried to detain Lakhan.
Bharat Bhushan Ashu said, "Lakhan was live on his Facebook when cops broke open the glass door of his premises and dragged him outside. A local resident had taken two sacks of ration on his scooter, and Lakhan had only captured a video of the man. The man himself stopped his scooter on the side of the road and walked away. Lakhan, thereafter, informed the police and asked them to take action. However, the police did not come there at that moment.
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Two hours later, the SHO and police post in-charge with the police force reached there to apprehend Lakhan."
"Lakhan asked about the complaint the police received against him; however, the police broke open the lock of the door and dragged him out. Meanwhile, I reached there and protested, after which the police officers left from there. Moreover, on that spot, the cops were writing a complaint on a paper to justify their action.
The police have become a puppet of the ruling govt and are trying their best to intimidate the Congress workers and supporters," he added.
When contacted, a senior police official said the scooter-borne man gave a complaint to the police that Lakhan stopped him, intimidated him, and slapped him when he was taking his own ration home.
Acting on the complaint, the police went there to apprehend Lakhan, who already had about four FIRs on him.
As per the information shared by the police official, Lakhan was booked between 2017 to 2019 in two cases - one case of scuffle with snatching, and one case of theft. When contacted, police commissioner Swapan Sharma said, "The police are looking into the matter and will act as per the law."
Ashu complains to ECI
His complaint reads that on June 18, the Congress worker reported the illegal distribution of cash, liquor, and ration by workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Ludhiana West constituency.
Upon reaching the spot, instead of apprehending those engaged in these illegal activities, the police, in a shocking and partisan action, raided the house of the Congress worker who exposed the crime. The police broke open the locks of his house without any warrant, thereby violating his fundamental rights and sending a clear message of intimidation to those opposing the ruling party's candidate.
The complaint also said that this is not an isolated incident.
We have ample evidence and information that AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora, his councillor, and party workers are openly engaging in the distribution of cash, liquor, and other inducements, fully protected by state security personnel. This has not only compromised the level playing field mandated during elections but has also created a climate of fear and suppression against the democratic process.
Also, in the complaint, the Congress candidate demanded immediate transfer of all Station House Officers (SHOs) posted in Ludhiana West, as they are complicit in allowing these malpractices and targeting opposition workers. Further, they demanded the transfer of the DSP (West, Civil Lines), ADCP-III Kanwalpreet Singh, and DCP Ludhiana Parminder Singh Bhandal with immediate effect to ensure free and fair elections in the constituency and the registration of FIRs against Sanjeev Arora (AAP candidate), his councillor, and all workers involved in the distribution of cash and illegal inducements, under the relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act and IPC.