In Badal’s home turf, his men face as many as 40 FIRs

As many as 40 cases have been registered against Akali workers and village leaders over the past two months in Gidderbaha, home turf of the ...

As many as 40 cases have been registered against Akali workers and village leaders over the past two months in Gidderbaha, home turf of the Badals.

From mid-February, a spate of cases were filed against Akali workers, including sarpanches and SGPC members, at Gidderbaha, Kotbhai, Muktsar Sadar and Malout Sadar police stations. All these stations are in Gidderbaha constituency, represented by Badal’s nephew, Manpreet. Most cases have been booked under Excise Act for possession of illicit liquor.

Muktsar SSP K.J.S. Pannu refused comment on the cases. DGP M.S. Bhullar couldn’t be reached. And despite promises to return the call, neither officer commented on Akali Dal allegations that the cases were part of the Congress government’s vendetta.

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Not just Excise Act, even IPC sections 323 and 324 for causing hurt to anyone have been used. Among those booked are SGPC member Gurpal Singh Gora and Naib Tehsildar Charanjit Singh Fakarsar. Charanjit said: ‘‘I am based in Malout. I never went to Gidderbaha.’’ Yet the case against him was registered at Gidderbaha police station under seven IPC sections.

Several of the cases were registered on poll day in Malout. Bhitiwala village sarpanch Harmit Singh was one such. The same day, SGPC members Navtej Singh Kawani was booked in Muktsar as also Darshan Singh, and Chorad village panchayat member Surinder Pal. The cases were slapped under IPC, Excise Act and Arms Act.

The day after the polls, Malout’s Jaspal Singh too was booked under IPC. A day earlier, he was thrashed and stabbed; when booked, he was convalescing at Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College. Last month, Sotha village sarpanch Deputy Singh was booked in Muktsar. ‘‘When two dozen people went to the police station to get him released, all had to undergo physical exercises before being sent away,’’ an Akali worker said.

The language used to register the cases at different police stations bear a remarkable similarity. For example, Sandhura Singh, of Buter Bakhuha police station limits, was booked on April 1 after an informer told police that illicit liquor could be found at his home. The police raided Sandhura’s house, found illicit liquor and booked him. Ten days later, Sukhdev Singh of Ghaga village was booked and his FIR narrated the same course of events.