Cong men storm Faridkot jail to meet students

Tuesday, 19/05/2015

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/

Faridkot : Thousands of Congress workers and leaders blocked the Bathinda-Amritsar road in front of Faridkot central jail here today.

They were demanding the release of the 12 students, including a minor, who had been arrested by the police on May 6 for “damaging” a bus of an Akali leader in Faridkot.

Led by Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, national president, All-India Youth Congress, the protesting party men tried to enter the jail premises to meet the jailed students.

Using mild force to control them, the Faridkot police rounded up a large number of Congress workers, including Raja Warring and two other Congress MLAs,  in the evening today.

The leaders and their supporters were released by the police after they were taken to the Police Lines, situated 5 km away from the central jail.

“There was no formal arrest of the Congress leaders and workers. They were taken into preventive custody to control the law and order situation and released at the Police Lines,” said  Vishaljeet Singh, DSP, Faridkot.

Accompanied by Congress MLAs Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Kuljeet Singh Nagra, Vikramjeet Singh Choudhary, president of Youth Congress Punjab, Dhanjeet Singh Virk, halqa in charge Faridkot, Vijayinder Singla, former MP and Sukwinder Danny, former youth leader,   Raja Warring demanded the release of the jailed students.

“We reached Faridkot today to meet these students after there were reports of them observing a hunger strike and the police and musclemen of the Akali leader torturing these students in the police lock-up. But the jail authorities denied us permission,” said Raja Warring.

The strike by private bus operators two days back in Punjab was also a political and business strategy of the Badal family. It was a veiled threat to the people in Punjab that their normal lives would be disrupted if they reacted publicly to the Moga incident, alleged the Congress leaders.

The families of some students have alleged that the students  were tortured in the police lock-up. “Now, they have gone on hunger strike in jail,” said Gurdeep Kaur, mother of Manga Singh Azad, a jailed student.

Balkar Singh, superintendent of jail, denied that the jailed students were on hunger strike.

Clean chit to six
Under immense pressure to release the jailed students and cancel the FIR registered against 35 persons under the “attempt to murder” charge, the Faridkot police today moved an application in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Faridkot, giving clean chit to six accused, including five women.

In the application, Narinder Singh, SHO, Faridkot, claimed that police investigation in bus attack incident found that Gian Singh of Muktsar; Gurdev Kaur; Balbir Kaur; Parkash Kaur; Simarjit Kaur, wife of Sukhdev Singh; and Simarjit Kaur, wife of Piara Singh of Faridkot were found innocent, so they were discharged in the case. The court has fixed May 21 for hearing objections on the application.