Cong office-bearer’s murder: Kin protest, refuse to perform last rites

Ludhiana: Two days after the brutal murder of a Congress block president in Takhran village, his family members, along with Congress party leaders, workers and supporters, staged a protest at Machhiwara-Kohara road on Tuesday, demanding immediate arrest of the main accused. The family has refused to perform last rites of the deceased till the principal accused is arrested and the actual circumstances behind the murder are brought to light.The protest was held at Malwa Chowk, where Congress leaders, family members and supporters blocked the Machhiwara-Kohara Road. Members of farmer unions and representatives of other political groups also joined the demonstration. Protesters raised slogans against the Punjab govt and the police administration, alleging failure in arresting the accused and demanding that both the main accused and the alleged conspirators behind the murder be taken into custody.Speaking to mediapersons on behalf of the family of the deceased, Parminder Tiwari's brother-in-law, Pawan Kumar, alleged that authorities were falsely claiming that the murder was linked to a one and a half year old dispute over panchayat land. He said Parminder Tiwari had no role in the dispute and alleged that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy. He demanded a thorough probe into the matter, saying that the killers be arrested and questioned, and those behind the incident identified.Family members reiterated that they would not perform the last rites till the main accused was arrested and the actual circumstances surrounding the murder established. Meanwhile, Ludhiana police said multiple teams had been constituted to arrest the accused. Police commissioner Swapan Sharma said the main accused, identified as Vijay, was yet to be arrested. He added that a police team had been sent to Bihar to nab him. He also confirmed that the family had not allowed postmortem examination of the body of the deceased so far.The protest continued to draw support from local residents, with shopkeepers in Malwa Chowk area keeping their establishments closed for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in solidarity with the victim's family.Sources said a video of the main accused roaming around the crime scene with an axe around one hour before the murder had surfaced. They added that public anger was mounting over failure of the police to arrest the main accused more than 50 hours after the incident. Addressing the gathering at Malwa Chowk, Congress's Samrala halqa in-charge, Raja Gill said two days had passed since the murder but the main accused remained at large. He added that the family had decided not to perform Parminder Tiwari's last rites until the accused was apprehended. Gill said the Congress high command had issued instructions that if the police failed to arrest the killers and alleged conspirators, the party would intensify its protests. He warned that the police commissioner's office would be surrounded and city roads would be blocked if arrests were not made.Former Congress minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli, district Congress president Lakhvir Singh Lakha, and Sahnewal area Congress in-charge Vikram Singh Bajwa also addressed the protest. They alleged that the police administration had completely failed to prevent killings and demanded immediate action in the case.
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