AAP woman activist attempts suicide in protest against Punjab minister Rana Gurjeet Singh

Kapurthala, February 8

An Aam Aadmi Party woman activist Tuesday allegedly tried to commit suicide by pouring acid on herself, accusing Punjab Technical Education Minister Rana Gurjeet Singh of having her beaten up for hurling a shoe at his poster last November.

Identified as Sushma Anand, the 55-year-old Kapurthala resident poured acid on herself during an AAP demonstration on the Kapurthala-Sultanpurlodhi road before the Sadar police station.

Following the incident, she was rushed to the local civil hospital by police and her condition was described as “safe” by Dr Arsh treating her.

In her statement to the police, she said she took the extreme step because the police did not lodge a complaint against her assailants, the minister’s men and Congress leaders, who beat her up at the behest of the minister after she threw the shoe at his poster.

She doused herself with the acid amid an AAP workers’ demonstration in protest against the arrest of two party workers who were pasting posters earlier during the day.

During the demonstration, AAP’s Kapurthala candidate Manju Rana, a retired additional district and sessions judge, lay flat on the road along with party workers in protest against the arrest of the two workers under the alleged pressure of the Congress sitting MLA Gurjit Singh.

They were demanding the transfer of the entire police team and district administration staff, alleging they were working under political pressure.

Kapurthala Superintendent of Police Jagjit Singh Soraya later said the police freed one AAP worker but arrested the second one as he was a proclaimed offender in a criminal case registered in 2017.

Manju Rana lifted dharna after seven hours following an assurance by Kapurthala returning officer-cum-SDM Jai Inder Singh to take action on her complaint against city DSP, city SHO and ‘munshi’ (writing constable) of the Sadar police station for allegedly working under political pressure. —