The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said atrocities against women and registration of false cases against Akali councilors had crossed all limits and in case these issues were not redressed within one week the party would start an agitation.Addressing the media here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Dera Bassi legislator N K Sharma said the party had brought these 16 cases of repression before concerned authorities but the government was unmoved by the plight of the aggrieved women. “In case no action is taken in these cases involving excesses on women, common persons and Akali –BJP councilors within one week we will organize a district level dharna in Mohali and also scale up the issue to the State level immediately afterwards”, the leaders said.Giving details of the sexual molestation case of Dera Bassi, Dr Cheema said it was four days since the party had officially complained to Mohali deputy commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra about the barbarity inflicted upon a fellow woman and her daughter in law in Zirakpur. “No action has been taken in the matter despite the fact that the woman was abused, threatened, beaten and molested in Baltana police chowki by ASI Narender Pal Singh. Even her clothes and those of her daughter in law were torn. We demand immediate arrest and registration of a criminal case against the police chowki incharge as per the statement of the victim”. The victim also related her tale of woe on the occasion and said that despite recording her statement no action was being taken against her tormentors.
The Akali leader said this was not the only case of atrocities against women in Dera Bassi. He said earlier a woman – Anita was thrashed by a Congress man simply because she was taking his video while he was cutting the water connection to their house. He said the height of repression was such that instead of taking action against the Congressman, the police registered a case against an Akali councilor Shiv Kumar Tony. He said the councilor’s only fault was that his wife had taken the girl to the hospital.He said the insensitivity of the Dera Bassi civil and police administration could also be seen from the manner in which it handled a woman agitation against opening of an illegal liquor shop in Zirakpur. Dr Cheema said instead of taking action against the illegal shop, the police administration registered false cases against two brothers of SAD mla N K Sharma and five other councilors. “One SC councilor had to stay in jail for 15 days due to this false case in which women alone ransacked the liquor shop after repeated warnings to shift it from Zirakpur failed to evince any action from the authorities”, he added.
The Dera Bassi mla disclosed that even the Lalru municipal committee president had been jailed after registration of a false case against him after he refused to join the Congress. He said the president Ballu Rana, who was earlier known as Kesar Singh before he changed his name, was framed in a case after an application was procured claiming he was using two identities. He said in yet another case another councilor Sanju Rana, who also refused to shift allegiance to the Congress, was framed in a false case on the plea that he was developing an illegal colony. “Sanju Rana does not even have any land in his name and has denied the charge”, he added.The SAD also highlighted other false cases registered against its councilors, including registration of a false case against Bhupinder Rana simply because he had rung up the police to ensure justice to a car owner whose vehicle had been struck by a bus. Jaspreet was accused of quarreling on the spot of the accident despite the fact that he never went to the accident site. He said in yet another case councilor Jaspreet Lucky was framed in a false case.