BSP workers hold protest against govt, police

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 16

Workers of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today held a protest against the state government and the Jalandhar police for allegedly registering fake cases against Dalits and the party workers. They also burnt an effigy of the state government and the city police.

BSP Jalandhar zone in charge Master Ram Lubaya and Balwinder Kumar were leading the protest. They alleged that at the behest of the Akali-BJP government, the police had been implicating their workers and dalits in fake criminal cases.

In the garb of anti-drug drive, the police have been registering fake cases against Dalits in a large number and the police have not been laying hands on the black sheep in the drug business, BSP leader Balwinder said. Recently, the police had picked up a dalit youth and implicated him in drug cases despite the fact that he was not carrying any drugs, he claimed

Whenever Dalits seek some action against anti-social elements, the police never pay heed and when Dalits hold a protest against the police, the police threaten to implicate them in fake drug cases, workers said, adding that the ruling party had been guiding the police in doing so. Recently, a factory owner in Dada Colony was beaten up a youth Sonu and instead of dealing with the culprit strictly, the police threatened the youth.

The leaders said if the city police did not change its course, the BSP would hold a series of protests against the police in the coming days. “The police should discharge its duties independently and it should not bow to any political pressure,” they said.

They also lambasted the state government for failing to implement the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students. They said due to the lack of will, Dalit students were facing huge problems in completing their studies.