Cong says workers assaulted, killed, asks AAP if this is the ‘new badlav’

Former PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted a video of the Sanour incident, “Kejriwal Ji, aapke log Dilli mein court jaa rahe hain ki aapki jaan ko khatra hai, Punjabiyon ki jaan ki bhi fikra karein! If it happens in Delhi you call it vandalism. Look what is happening in Punjab… Another Congress worker brutally beaten in Sanaur. Law & order at a very low ebb !!”

Accusing AAP for “deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab”, Congress MLA Pargat Singh tweeted: “Another attack on Congress worker in Punjab: @ArvindKejriwal & @BhagwantMann‘s “Badlaav” continues in full flow in Punjab. Relatives of AAP Sanaur MLA attacked a Congress worker with swords badly wounding him. He has 12 stitches in head. No action by @PunjabPoliceInd so far.”

In the first incident, Iqbal Singh (50) from village Kassoana of Zira in Ferozepur was allegedly attacked with bricks late on March 12, two days after the Punjab poll results. The next day police registered an FIR against three people under Sections 307, 341, 323, 34 of IPC. After fighting for life for more than two weeks, he died at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, on March 29 and Section 302 (murder) was added to the FIR.

Iqbal Singh’s brother Pal Singh said, “Our entire family supports the Congress while all the three accused are AAP supporters. Earlier also, they had minor skirmish with my brother but on March 12, after AAP won, they attack my brother with bricks when he was returning from work.” In another tweet, Sidhu said: “Still awaiting action against the AAP workers who brutally killed Congress worker Iqbal in Zira. Will be attending his antim ardaas on Wednesday. We will fiercely rally behind every congress worker, who are our backbone.”

Police, however, said that there was “no political angle” behind the assault. Inspector Balraj Singh, SHO of Zira Sadar police station, said, “Two people named in the FIR have already been arrested. It was a village-level rivalry and there’s no political angle in the case. We have already added murder charges after the death of the victim.”

In the second incident, Jaswinder Singh alias Jassi from village Julkan of Sanour was allegedly attacked by a group on March 27. In the video of the incident that has been tweeted by Sidhu and Pargat Singh, a group of persons can be purportedly seen hitting Jassi continuously with some sharp edged weapons near a heap of gravel. Jassi is currently admitted to a hospital in Patiala and his condition is stated to be critical. Patiala Police registered an FIR against seven people under Sections 324, 323, 506, 148 and 149 at Julkan police station on March 29 — two days after the incident.

Congress’s Harinder Pal Singh Harry Maan, who contested polls from Sanour, said, “All the people who have been booked are AAP workers and they are also the relatives of local AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra. Police initially did not even file the FIR under 307 (attempt to murder) but we got it added later. Is this open hooliganism the badlaav that AAP is talking about? There are photos of the accused people with the MLA.”

Nirmal Singh, brother of the victim, said, “I am a Congress supporter. We dig earth from plots and also deal in sand and gravel. We refused to dig earth from the plot of the accused after AAP won and called back our machinery from the spot because we are waiting for new rules related to earth digging. The accused opened attack on my brother and threatened that they were relatives of local MLA. My brother’s condition is very serious and he has got fractures in arms, legs, back and head.”

SI Lakhvir Singh, SHO of Julkan police station, said, “Both parties had some dispute related to earth digging and there’s no political angle in the case but we have arrested two people.”

Meanwhile, finance minister and senior AAP leader Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Congress is spreading a bundle of lies. “AAP believes in following the law and if any AAP worker is involved in violence, the law will work equally for him. Our CM Bhagwant Mann has already said that there will be no vendetta politics in Punjab now.”