Rasoolpur saidan (Patiala), April 30
AAP Patiala candidate Dr Dharamvir Gandhi was allegedly punched in the face, slapped repeatedly and abused by a group of men led by local SAD councillor Rajinder Virk an hour before the end of polling at Rasoolpur Saidan village in the Patiala (rural) Assembly segment in one of the many incidents of Akali workers allegedly thrashing workers of the fledgling party.

While the police rushed to the spot, Virk — Akali Dal’s Ward No. 12 councillor —escaped, but was arrested late in the evening. The police have registered an FIR against Rajinder Virk and 20-25 unidentified persons for assault, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint and obstructing a public servant, DSP (rural) Gurdev Dhaliwal said.

AAP legal cell leader Chetanya Sharma said Dr Gandhi was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons at Rasoolpur Saidan village after he requested armed men led by Rajinder Virk not to harass AAP workers at the booth.

“Virk had been visiting polling booths in the constituency and targeting our workers since morning. At Rasoolpur, Dr Gandhi requested Virk not to intimidate AAP workers. He did not listen and instead directed the attack on Dr Gandhi,” Sharma said.

Dr Gandhi suffered bruises on his neck, chest, mouth and ear in addition to a cut on his jaw. He also suffered a wound around his nose and lip.

He complained of some pain in the stomach and chest late in the evening and was examined by a team of doctors. Reconstructing the sequence of events, Dr Gandhi said, “I requested Rajinder Virk not to intimidate our workers as he had been doing throughout the day. Instead of leaving our workers alone, he and his men pounced on me. They punched and slapped me. One of Virk’s men snatched my security official’s weapon and also took off his turban.”

AAP leaders and security officials present at the spot said Virk allegedly also thrashed Dr Gandhi’s security official. “They were armed with rods and stones and did not even spare Dr Gandhi’s car while escaping from the spot,” they alleged.

“Our workers were harassed, threatened and thrashed at various places, including Rajpura and Sanaur. We will get all the reports by tomorrow and approach the police with all the complaints,” Dr Gandhi said. AAP leaders held a dharna demanding the immediate arrest of Virk and his associates, who they said were closely associated with Cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.

“I was informed Dr Gandhi was punched at the polling booth in the evening. I visited the spot and have assured him of strict action as per the law. We have recorded Dr Gandhi’s statement. The accused will be arrested soon,” Patiala SSP Hardyal Mann said.

“Akali councillors and their leaders had been threatening our workers at almost every booth since morning. We tried to ignore minor incidents, but surprisingly the local police also did not react to complaints of attempts of booth capturing in Devigarh, Rasoolpur, Samana and Patiala (rural) Assembly segment,” they alleged.

In Jalalabad village, AAP workers Kartar Singh and Shamsher Singh were admitted to the Government Rajindra Hospital after they were allegedly beaten up by Akali leader Tarsem Singh and his henchmen. “We were punched and kicked in full public view for openly supporting AAP in the village,” they said. In Samana and Devigarh, some AAP workers alleged they were threatened to leave their polling booth and two of them were slapped.

Another AAP leader from Nabha alleged Akali and Congress workers allegedly asked him to leave the booth party and slapped him when he resisted. In Model Town and Partap Nagar area of Patiala, Akali and Congress supporters engaged in verbal duels and the situation was saved with police intervention. In Model Town, AAP workers approached the police when some Akali workers tried to enter the polling booth and influence voters.

In separate incidents in Patiala (rural) and Sanaur, AAP workers alleged Akali workers pushed them and threatened them of dire consequences if they continued to support to AAP.

The Congress, meanwhile, condemned the incident terming it “very unfortunate”. Patiala (rural) MLA Brahm Mahindra said the attack was against the basic principles of democracy and the police should take strict action against such goons.

AAP volunteer shifted to PGI

AAP volunteer Kartar Singh (65) from Patiala was shifted from Rajindra Hospital to the PGI, Chandigarh, in the evening after he suffered a hairline fracture in the forehead during the attack on AAP workers. His condition is stable.

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