Day after farmers lock gate, Phagwara mill lodges plaint
A day after the farmers under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) locked the gate of Phagwara sugar mill over Rs 27 crore pending dues, the new management of the mill lodged a complaint with the police and district authorities.
Chief Security Officer Avtar Singh of Golden Sandhar Mills, Phagwara, submitted a complaint to SDM Jashanjit Singh asking him to intervene into the matter and to prevent the farmers from trespassing.
The copies of the complaint were also submitted to Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal, SSP Vatsala Gupta and SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti.
Buttar urged the authorities to book the protesters under Sections 61, 356 and 351 of the BNS for threatening, misbehaving, delivering defamatory remarks, criminal intimidation, criminal force and locking the gate of the mill.
Those named in the complaint include Manjit Singh Rai, Satnam Singh Sahni, Kirpal Singh Musapur, Santokh Singh Lakhpur, Devinder Singh Sandhwan, Baljinder Singh Chakmander, Sohan Singh Sahni, Kulwinder Singh Atholi, Samarjit Singh Atholi and Tarsem Singh along with 100 unknown persons.
Bhatti said the complaint had been forwarded to Phagwara SHO to investigate the matter. The SDM said 10 kanal, 12 marla land of the mill was attached by the administration in 2021.
Buttar said the present management had paid Rs 16 crore as per agreement. He said previous owner Jaswinder Bains had to pay Rs 12 crore, Jarnail Singh Wahid Rs 6 crore and NRI Sandhar Rs 13 crore. Wahid was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau over irregularities in the mill in September 2023. The DC said the process to auction 22 attached properties of the old management had already started. “The revenue we generate from auction will be used to clear dues,” he said.
