FIR filed against 33 in Mohali for protesting in support of Amritpal Singh
23 Mar 2023 14:00:09
Mohali, Mar 23: Twenty-four persons have been booked on the charges of rioting, assaulting public servants on duty, and unlawful assembly at the Sohana chowk, Mohali police said on Wednesday, a day after the area was cleared of supporters of a pro-Khalistani preacher and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. They are among 37 persons against whom first information reports were registered on Tuesday.
Sohana station house officer (SHO) Sumit Maur said these 24 persons, seven of whom are from Ludhiana, have been booked under sections 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Nine persons, including two women, have been booked under sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC for breaching the peace. Thirty-three persons have been shifted to Patiala jail, while the magistrate let off three women and a boy on a personal bail bond,” he added. As police officials are privy to the matter, efforts are on to ascertain their background, how they were influenced and turned radical, and whether there was any exchange of funds to support the protest. The FIRs against them were registered on the complaint of Mataur SHO Gabbar Singh, who said that a delegation comprising members of the Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan management committee, panchayats of nearby villages, and residents living in the vicinity had approached the protesters, urging them to remove their tent and clear the road, as the protest was preventing devotees from visiting the place of worship and causing panic in the area. An argument ensued and the protesters got into a scuffle with the group backed by the gurdwara, following which its sewadars (staff) removed the tents. But women and elderly men refused to budge. It was then that the police swung into action and removed the barricades on both sides of the road. “Instead of discussing the matter, the protesters entered into a heated argument with them. Even the duty magistrate tried to discuss the matter with protesters, but they attacked the delegation,” the FIR read. Five cops, including a superintendent of police, were injured in the process. The police had also seized a cache of weapons, including swords, spears, axes, farm tools, and lathis, that the agitators had been brazenly brandishing at the chowk since the Punjab Police launched an operation against Amritpal and his supporters on March 18.
Meanwhile, Harnek Singh Uppal, head of the Deep Sidhu faction of Waris Punjab De, said, “Police acted against the peaceful protesters. Those protesting outside the Sohana gurdwara included some of those sitting at the YPS chowk, where many locals had also joined them. We will provide all legal aid to those who were arrested.” The police on Wednesday also carried out a flag march across the city, which saw the participation of several senior officers.