Chandigarh, January 4: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today while condemning police inaction which led to the suicide of international Karate player Kuldeep Kaur in Batala yesterday, demanded an inquiry into the political interference by rural development minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and other Congressmen in the case.
In a statement here, the SAD president while expressing his heartfelt condolences with the bereaved family, said the manner in which the State police had become a tool of Congressmen had been exposed by the victim’s brother – Satwant who had failed to win justice for his sister and mother. “Satwant, an army personnel, extended his leave several times and appealed for justice to everyone from the Station House Officer (SHO) to the Director General of Police (DGP) but was denied the same”.
Stating that a case should be filed against Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa as well as former Chairman Balwinder Singh Billa for obstructing the police force from conducting its duty as disclosed by the victim’s brother Satwant, the SAD president said but for this international player Kuldeep Kaur’s career would not have been snuffed out in her youth. He said action should also be taken against other police officials in Batala who had denied justice to Kuldeep and her mother after a murderous assault on them few months back.
Badal said the State was slipping into jungle raj because the Congress government was unable to rein in its goonda elements. “In fact immediately after the Congress came into power in March this year it encouraged its workers to settle scores with their political opponents. This led to bizarre incidents like Akali veteran Gurbachan Singh Khalsa being shot down by a Congressman after being threatened on a loud speaker. Our sarpanch and his family members were killed in Ferozepur after threats on social media. Even our dalit supporters were not spared and a family saw its head being disrobed and beaten while its women members were molested”.
The SAD president said the situation had become such that Punjabis had lost faith in the law and order machinery. “Recently the family of Jaitu businessman Ravinder Kochhar sold off their rice mill and other property and decided to shift abroad when the State police failed to arrest the gangsters who gunned down Kochhar after he did not agree to their extortion bid. Such days were not seen even in the height of terrorism days”, he added.
