Ropar, April 16
Panic prevailed in Bass village after the police raids yesterday at about 3 am despite assurance by senior police officers. When this correspondent visited the village, people said they were afraid of going to the town, fearing police backlash over yesterday’s protest.
They expressed dissatisfaction at the mere suspension of constables for beating up villagers. The sarpanch of the village, Mr Ram Kumar Devedi, alleged that the villagers, in the complaint submitted to the DSP, Anandpur Sahib, had named the police officers responsible for the incident. However, no action had been recommended against them.
If the police failed to take action against the guilty, the villagers would once again gherao the police station. Moreover, the villagers were also planning to present their case before the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, during his visit to the area on April 25, the sarpanch said.
The octogenarian couple, Raja Ram and Parkasho Devi, who were nursing the wounds received at the hands of cops, said though policemen had returned a television set, a gas cylinder and a stove, yet some clothes were still missing. Raja Ram, who was still in a state of shock, did not know why he was thrashed by the cops.
Talking to this
correspondent, he said they disowned their son Vijay Kumar two years ago. The police raided their house to look for him. However, before they could tell them anything, they
started thrashing them. The cops took away their belongings despite being told that they had disowned their son and he did not stay with them anymore.
The DSP, Anandpur Sahib, who is conducting an inquiry into the incident, said preliminary investigation suggested that the police action was provoked by the resistance the villagers showed against the detention of some residents who were wanted in cases of theft. However, the beating up of the octogenarian couple could not be justified. Action would be taken against the guilty after the completion of the inquiry by tomorrow.
He said the police had arrested and registered cases of theft against Rimple Kumar, alias Ghepal, and Joginder, both residents of Bass village, under Sections 457, 380, 454 and 34 of the IPC. Three other residents of Bass and Bhabhore villages, who were suspected to be involved in thefts, were still at large.
As reported earlier in these columns, in gross violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for the detention of persons, the Nangal police at about 3 am yesterday raided and thrashed 82-year-old Raja Ram and his 80-year-old wife Parkasho Devi, residents of Bass village, near Nangal.
Besides the old couple, the police this morning picked up Subash Chander and Shiv Kumar, who had come to Bass village to visit their in-laws. They were let off later. They alleged that they were beaten up and humiliated by the police for no fault of theirs.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the news item published in The Tribune regarding the incident, the SSP, Ropar, Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, has written to the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, Ms Seema Jain, to order a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
