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Ludhiana: FIR against SAD leader triggers row in Jagraon
The case, which is based on a five-month-old complaint related to a boundary wall dispute, is being labelled by opposition parties as a politically motivated move by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government
The registration of an FIR against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Block Samiti chairman Didar Singh Malak by the Jagraon police has stirred a political controversy. The action was taken a day after Malak arranged a protest against the Punjab government’s land pooling policy in which leaders of various political parties participated.
The case, which is based on a five-month-old complaint related to a boundary wall dispute, is being labelled by opposition parties as a politically motivated move by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
Police officials said the case pertains to a colony land dispute where a boundary line was under litigation. It has been alleged that Didar Singh Malak, along with another individual, defied a court’s stay order and demolished a wall. According to the complaint, when residents of the colony objected, they were allegedly mistreated.
The BJP termed it an act of political vendetta. BJP’s Jagraon leader Manjit Singh Rai accused the AAP government of misusing police machinery to settle scores. “Malak led the protest in Jagraon against the state’s land pooling policy. This case has been dug up only to intimidate opposition voices,” he said.
Rai further alleged that the plot in question belongs to a person against whom a case has been filed, and that a gate was installed as per convenience since the access road was on the opposite side. “The government is using the police like puppets,” Rai added.
The FIR follows a massive protest held on July 7 in Jagraon, where several political leaders including former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, joined farmers to oppose the state government’s land pooling policy. Didar Singh Malak played a key role in leading that demonstration.
While the police have maintained that the complaint was under review and has now resulted in legal action after due process, the timing of the FIR has drawn sharp criticism from political quarters. Malak stated that the police were pressuring him not to hold any protest and indirectly threatened him. Later, he came to know that he was booked in a case.
