Punjab: Shahkot Congress MLA, 12 others booked by cops

JALANDHAR: Shahkot Congress MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia and 12 others have been booked by Shahkot police for wrongfully restraining, using criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty, restraining a public servant and rioting; for waylaying Baba Bakala AAP MLA Dalbir Singh Tong and another vehicle accompanying him during the polling for Jalandhar bypoll on May 10.

The Congress MLA and his supporters had said that AAP was clearly violating the official orders which directed outsiders to leave the constituency.

The FIR has been registered on a complaint given by AAP MLA’s private driver Gagandeep Arora who has acclaimed that he was driving the Gypsy vehicle, accompanying the MLA, in which four police personnel were there. The driver has claimed that they were going from Baba Bakala to Sultanpur Lodhi via Jalandhar –Nakodar and they diverted through villages roads as there was blockade in Malsian chowk.

“When we reached village Rupewal and MLA’s vehicle was ahead of the Gypsy I was driving, several Congress workers led by MLA Hardev Singh waylaid our two vehicles using a tractor. Then they pulled out key of my vehicle and when police personnel stopped them they rebuked them. They stopped us for a long time and you (police) got us released after much effort,” the FIR reads.

All the other 12 have been identified in the FIR which has been registered under sections 341, 186, 353 and 148 of IPC. This FIR was registered on the same night but police officials kept it under wraps. On Thursday late evening, district authorities released a press note about the FIRs registered on polling day. However that note mentioned only the serial number of this FIR and that 13 persons were booked. It did not give offences or the persons named even as these details were given about a couple of other FIRs.

A high drama had taken place during the incident as Congress MLA had streamed live the incident alleging that it was a clear violation of the poll code as official orders directed outsiders to leave. The AAP MLA was later taken to Shahkot police station.

Congress Legislature Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday had said that the AAP MLA was not even named in the FIR registered by the police and it mentioned only unidentified members. Jalandhar Rural SSP Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar told that the MLA was later named in the subsequent investigation report and was then arrested and released on bail.

Following this incident opposition had reported presence of a few other AAP MLAs and several workers from outside the constituency.