MC staff, BJP leaders come face to face over building demolition

Ludhiana: Employees of the municipal corporation (MC) and leaders of BJP locked horns over a demolition drive in which MC razed a part of a building owned by BJP leader Lucky Chopra in Kitchlu Nagar on Thursday evening. Both parties levelled charges of manhandling against each other.
While BJP leaders staged a protest at PAU police station accusing MC staff of misbehaving with them, assistant town planner (ATP) Ravneet Kaur accused Chopra of tearing her sleeves and manhandling other officials.
The ATP claimed that they had demolished a part of the building in Kitchlu Nagar when its owner Lucky Chopra reached the spot and came in the way of MC vehicle. Chopra even manhandled her and tore her sleeves in the process, she alleged. When building inspector Harvinder Singh Honey intervened, Chopra manhandled him too, the ATP claimed.
Ravneet Kaur further said after she told Chopra that she would file a police complaint against him, he sat in the MC vehicle and asked her to take him to the police station.
BJP leaders and members who thronged PAU police station after the incident alleged that the MC employees demanded a bribe from Chopra and detained him and thrashed him. Senior leaders of BJP, including district president Ravinder Arora, former minister Satpal Gosain, Rajinder Bhandari, reached the spot.
The BJP workers also raised slogans against mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria and MC authorities.
MC sources said the corporation had asked Chopra to get a new building plan sanctioned. But the leader kept on constructing the building without getting the plan sanctioned.
Meanwhile, the police tried to diffuse the situation and held meetings with both the parties for hours.
ADCP Ratan Singh Brar said both the parties came to lodge complaints. The police have now asked both the parties to submit their complaints in writing after which further action will be taken.
Both parties were at the police station and no official complaint was filed till filing of this report.
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Meanwhile, MC employees who were at police station, including ATP Ravneet Kaur and building inspector Harvinder Honey, said they won't come to work till their security is ensured. The members of MC employees union said that they would hold a meeting to chalk out future course of action. Recently, a JE was allegedly thrashed on Bahadurke road.