Abohar, Channu killings become ‘political issues’

Monday, 14/12/2015

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=146376&boxid=57932&uid=&dat=2015-12-14

Bathinda : In the season of rallies in the state, the Opposition has found two killing incidents, which took place in Abohar and Channu (Lambi) village of Malwa region on Friday, as major issues to rip into the ruling alliance.

In Abohar instance, police have booked the liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda, who had unsuccessfully contested Vidhan Sabha polls in 2012 against the Congress and BJP as an independent candidate, for being a conspirator of the murder of a youngster, belonging to Valmiki community, at his farmhouse in Ramsara village on Friday.

As Doda maintains good rapport with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, it was alleged that even at the time of elections he was supported by the SAD for the seat being allotted to BJP candidate under the coalition dharma.

So his alleged involvement in the crime that has now come on police record, came as a major issue with the Congress, AAP and BJP to settle political scores not only against Doda but also the SAD leadership.

The same way in Channu village instance, a 12-year-old girl was on Friday crushed to death by a private bus belonging to the Muktsar district planning committee chairman Hardeep Singh ‘Dimpy’ Dhillon, who is also the SAD’s Gidderbaha constituency in-charge.

Though the bereaved family has reached a compromise receiving the compensation amount from the administration, the oppositions-the Congress and AAP-are not in a mood to let the issue die down, obviously for the political reasons.

Sunday remained an active day for the politicians in opposition. If some went to Channu village, others were seen at Abohar. And interestingly, majority of these leaders also made their presence before the media persons at Bathinda.

While training his guns at the ruling party, the Congress MLA from Abohar Sunil Jakhar demanded the CBI probe of the incident, stating the brutal killing of the youngster, identified as Bhim, had created terror in the city.

While claiming it a well-hatched conspiracy of the SAD leaders, with also addressing Shiv Lal Doda as a close aide of SAD president, the Congress MLA said, “Doda’s goons had used the saw mill cutter to chop off the hands and feet of two youngsters of whom one succumbed to the injuries and other was still struggling with life.”

He also showed the copy of a rape case registered against the killed youth, which he claimed that was slapped post-death and under the pressure of Doda.

While addressing media persons, Jakhar mentioned that Abohar issue would be shared with masses from Congress rally stage on December 15, with a mention that supporting the Valmiki community he would put his best to take the case to logical end. Jakhar was flanked by various party MLAs and others.

On the other hand, the AAP MP from Sangrur Bhagwant Mann, accompanied by his party leaders including state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur, Faridkot MP Prof Sadhu Singh and Legal Cell head Himmat Singh Shergill visited Channu village to express condolences with the bereaved family of Arshdeep Kaur, the ill-fated girl who was killed by New Deep transport company’s bus on Friday.

The AAP leadership, while interacting with media persons at Bathinda, alleged that the body of the young girl was brutally dragged on the road by the cop to take it from the villagers agitating on the road on Friday night for postmortem at the Civil Hospital Malout.

Bhagwant Mann, who is the AAP’s leader in Lok Sabha, claimed that he would take up the matter with Lok Sabha speaker and also write to the Union Ministry of Home to enquire about the whole episode and ensure the culprit gets severest punishment.

Making it a base, the AAP leaders also claimed that the state police were all into pleasing the ruling party leaders and during the process they were not minding implicating anyone in fabricated cases. They also flayed the ‘Nanhi Chhan’ scheme of the ruling party MP from Bathinda, stating: “After Moga molestation-murder case, a case of harassment in Muktsar and now this killing at Channu village, were all such cases in which girls ‘Nanhi Chaan’ were involved.”