SAD protests scholarship scam, leaders detained

Stopped near house of MLA Dhaliwal

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and others scuffle with the police in Phagwara on Monday.

Tribune News Service

Phagwara, November 9

The police today detained several SAD leaders, including former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, MLAs Pawan Tinu, Baldev Khaira, Sukhwinder Sukhi and other party workers.

They were detained while they were about to reach the residence of local MLA BS Dhaliwal over the issue of his alleged involvement in the SC post-matric scholarship scam. Majithia and the other SAD leaders managed to breach three police barricades to make their way to the MLA’s house, which was a kilometre away from the actual protest site on the Phagwara-Banga-Chandigarh road.

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Majithia and other leaders managed to dodge the police force and walked towards the MLA’s house while the cops were busy stopping a truck that had SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, former ministers Daljit Singh Cheema and Jagir Kaur heading toward the same place. The top brass of the Kapurthala police, who came armed with heavy deployment of anti-riot squads, riot control vehicles and water cannons, failed to control the Akalis.

While Sukhbir’s convoy was later allowed to pass by, Jagir Kaur and ex-MLA Sarabjit Makkar, who were part of an entourage, were prevented from heading towards the MLA’s house to join the protest. They blocked the Phagwara bypass. Prior to the plan to gherao the MLA, former Assembly Speaker Charanjit Atwal, former ministers Daljit Singh Cheema and Gulzar S Ranike and former MP Prem S Chandumajra participated in a rally flaying the state government for “sheltering” SC Welfare Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot despite an enquiry report indicting him.