PHAGWARA: All the 11 police gunmen provided to three of the four arrested leaders of right wing
Hindu groups, after their clash with Dalit groups, have been withdrawn. Police have already seized licenced weapons of the accused and their licences are being cancelled.
While police officials are refraining from coming on record about the number of gunmen provided to these leaders, sources said that among the arrested leaders Deepak Bharadwaj (Punjab president of
All India Hindu Suraksha Samiti) had six gunmen, Inderjit Karwal (state vice-president of Shiv
Sena Bal Thackerey) had three gunmen and Shive Batta (of Hindu Shiv Sena) had two gunmen.
Sources said that these gunmen were provided on the basis of the threat perception. A senior police official said that after targeted killings in Punjab, security of the right wing leaders was further strengthened. “We can’t take chances,” he added.
When asked about the number of other right wing leaders who had been provided gunmen in
Phagwara, Kapurthala SSP Sandeep Sharma said that apart from these three, Shiv Sena’s Gurdeep Saini was also given gunmen. The number of gunmen provided varied from time to time, he added.
The SSP also He held that Saini was not present when the clash took place. “Of course, the security is provided at the instructions of the ADGP (security) but local police also provide when there are some intelligence inputs,” he said when asked that who was deciding the number of gunmen.
Meanwhile, police registered a case on the basis of a complaint submitted by Shiv Sena activists for causing enmity between communities, violating prohibitory orders and unlawful assembly and rioting under sections 153 A, 188, 148 and 149 of IPC. Those who were named in the FIR registered at Barandari police station included Gopal Khosla, Kali, Rimpy, Qaazi and Gora.
Jalandhar police commissioner said that to maintain the law and order situation in the city, they had deployed eight companies of paramilitary forces including, two of anti-riot police, two of the Rapid Action Police and four of the Border Security Force.
Cancel all right wingers’ licences: BSP
Punjab BSP president Rashpal Singh Raju called on the family of Yashwant aka Bobby — admitted in DMC Hospital Ludhiana in critical condition — and then held a meeting with his party leaders. He claimed that the right wing leaders were mainly responsible for vitiating the atmosphere in the state. He gave police an “ultimatum of two days” for arresting the remaining accused.