Says if anything happened to youth, CM Bhagwant Mann would be held responsible
CHANDIGARH: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today demanded the Haryana government hand over a youth farmer who had been kidnapped by its police and grievously injured to the victim family, even as he condemned chief minister Bhagwant Mann for failing to take up the case with Haryana and forcing the family to approach the High court for justice.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr Bikram Majithia said “30 year old Amritdhari youth Preetpal Singh was kidnapped by the Haryana Police when he had gone to distribute langar at Khanauri and was sitting in a trolley”. He said as per eye witness accounts the youth was thrown across the barricade and then put in a jute bag and brutally beaten leading to multiple fractures in one leg as well as fracture of his jaw and nose besides other injuries.
Majithia, who addressed the media along with Preetpal’s father Devinder Singh, said despite this gross violation of human rights a false case under Section 307 IPC had been registered against Preetpal and he was not being given medical aid despite being admitted at PGI Rohtak. “The Haryana government has refused to entertain the pleas of the victim family to allow them to take the boy to a super specialty hospital and is also not giving them the copy of the FIR registered in the case”.
Demanding that Preetpal be handed over to the family so that they could get the required operations done, Mr Majithia said “I and my wife - legislator Ganieve Kaur are ready to give an affidavit assuring the boy will be presented to the Haryana police as and when required”.
In a scathing attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann, the SAD leader said “if anything happens to Preetpal the chief minister will be directly responsible for the same”. He said even though the SSP and deputy commissioner were present on the spot, the Punjab Police acted as mute spectators while Haryana police personnel kidnapped Punjabi youth including Preetpal. He said seven to eight farmers were still missing.
Talking to newsmen, Preetpal’s father Devinder Singh said no one from the AAP government had approached them forcing them to approach the high court for relief. Breaking down on the occasion, Devinder said his son was treated as an animal by the Haryana Police and was not being given any treatment at PGI Rohtak. “Preetpal needs urgent operations on his leg and jaw line and that is why we want to shift him to another hospital”, he added.
Mr Majithia assured the family that he would take up the case with home minister Anil Vij. He also decried the move of the Haryana government to proclaim NSA in the State saying such dictatorial steps were not good in a democracy.
When questioned, Mr Majithia said youth farmer Shubhkaran’s post mortem was not being done because the Punjab government had not registered a FIR in the case. “Doesn’t the chief minister know the rules?” He also disclosed that MLRs were not being made in any of the cases in which Punjab farmers had been injured during attacks by the Haryana Police which indicated chief minister Bhagwant Mann was playing a fixed match with Haryana to the detriment of the farming community of Punjab.