‘False’ case against village sarpanch, farmers protest
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 9
Members of Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Fatehgarh Sahib, today held a protest outside the office of the Sirhind Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), over an alleged false case registered against the sarpanch of Jallah village and 20 others under ‘political pressure’ and demanded cancellation of the FIR.
The members claimed the action by the BDPO lowered the dignity of the sarpanches. They submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner and SSP in this regard and threatened to start an agitation along with other farm unions in case the FIR was not cancelled.
While addressing the media, senior members of the Sangharsh Committee, Sukhdev Singh Tohra and Rajinder Singh Suhagheri, alleged the case registered against Davinder Singh, sarpanch, Jallah village, was completely false and politically motivated. They promised Rs 1 lakh in case any act of corruption is proved against the sarpanch. They said the sarpanch carried out several development works in the village and at times spent money from his own pocket for the same.
They said village Jallah was considered a model village. The members of the last Assembly visited the village and honored the sarpanch for his innovative works.
The members alleged that the BDPO, who has been facing corruption charges, is trying to defame the sarpanch at the instigation of political leaders. They said they had elected a new government to bring a change, instead it is toeing the line of the previous regimes. The members warned to launch an agitation if the FIR against the sarpanch was not cancelled.
On February 6, former MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra had also held a dharna in support of the sarpanch, who was booked under Sections 186 and 353 of the IPC, on a complaint filed by the Sirhind BDPO for allegedly preventing him from performing government duty.