Gurdaspur: Protesters 'arm-twist' cops to lodge cases

Gurdaspur, May 12

Blocking the national highway (NH), and consequently putting thousands of commuters to inconvenience, has become the rule rather than an exception in Gurdaspur.

A Dinanagar school boy, riding a motorcycle, died recently after colliding with another biker. It was an open and shut case where Section 304-A (death due to negligence) should have been clamped on the erring motorcyclist. However, the kin of the deceased went on a rampage and blocked the busy Gurdaspur-Pathankot road, claiming “the boy was bludgeoned to death.” A case under Section 302 of the IPC was registered.

SSP Harjit Singh constituted an SIT which reported that it was a “clear-cut case of an accident.” “We were arm-twisted into filing a murder case,” said a senior officer.

Last month, an education provider was sent to jail under similar circumstances. The parents of a minor rape victim blocked the Amritsar-Pathankot road for 10 hours, following which the police came under pressure. A compromise was reached in which the education provider was asked to surrender. “They virtually forced us into adding Sections 109/115, IPC, where there was no need to do so,” a senior officer said.