Farm leader’s detention: Cops on 12-hour shift at city hospital

Ludhiana police officials remained on their toes on the second day on Wednesday as farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is still kept at the DMCH here. They have been discharging duty in and around the hospital for day and night.

Dallewal was taken to the hospital in the wee hours of November 26 and since then a large posse of police personnel remained deployed there.

A senior police official told The Tribune, “We have been discharging duties at the hospital in 12-hour hectic shift. Not only lower rung officers but also higher rank officials, including ADCPs and ACPs, have to stay at the hospital for 12 hours. Six senior officials and a number of inspectors start duty at 8 am and end at 8 pm. After our shift, night duty officials and force remain present at the hospital. Hundreds of police personnel, including two reserve police battalion, are kept at standby outside the hospital to tackle any emergency.”

The official said: “Since we have been discharging duty to maintain law and order at the hospital, I and other officials have cleared office files from there on Wednesday as our office work pendency is rising.”

The DMCH has become like a police cantonment as police officials can be seen deployed in and outside the hospital maintain the law and order. A number of personnel are deployed at the entry gate of the emergency ward while a sizeable number of officials, including ADCPs, ACPs and inspectors, are present at the main gate of the DMCH. Even on main roads, which lead to the hospital, a special naka has been laid with a purpose to keep an eye over the movement of farmer unions as the police had been suspecting that they might reach outside the hospital to hold a protest.

Furthermore, the police are not allowing anyone to meet the farm leader. On Tuesday, some farmer leaders had gone to meet him but no other visitors, who wanted to meet the farmer leader, were allowed inside the emergency ward. On Tuesday, city-based social activists Dr Amandeep Singh Brar and Kuldeep Khaira had also repeatedly requested senior police officials for a brief meeting with Dallewal but the police did not allow. Both activists had waited for hours to seek police nod to enquire about the health status of Dallewal.

Notably on Tuesday, Amarjeet Singh Rarra, state president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Azad), who met Dallewal, had said: “Dallewal is sticking to his words, he has already started his fast unto death. He is not taking anything to eat. He has no health issues. He has just been brought here by the police to prevent him from starting his fast unto death at the Khanauri border but Dallewal is firm and has decided to continue his hunger strike.”