Panchayat polls: AAP-Cong workers clash leaves ex-MLA injured
AAP MLA Naresh Kataria said it was the Congress workers who were carrying sticks and baseball bats. “They attacked the AAP workers and pelted stones,” he alleged.
A clash broke out between activists of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress during the nomination process for the upcoming panchayat elections, resulting in injuries to former Congress MLA Kulbir Singh Zira and two others at Zira sub-division of Ferozepur district on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at the main chowk in Zira when members of both parties threw stones at each other.
Kulbir Singh Zira, who is also the district Congress president, was among those injured in the stone-pelting. Enraged over the incident, Congress workers raised slogans against the AAP government.
As per Kulbir, the incident occurred when he along with party workers was going to the nomination centre for the October 15 panchayat elections in the state.
“When I came out from the house with my supporters to reach the nomination centre, police tried to stop us at several places. Later the AAP workers attacked the Congress workers who had been accompanying me,” Kulbir claimed. He also alleged that the police administration was supporting the AAP workers only.
“It was a pre-planned attack by AAP workers and they also fired shots in the air during the clash,” he said. Meanwhile, Shankar Kataria, son of AAP MLA Naresh Kataria, accused Congress supporters of disrupting the nomination process.
AAP MLA Naresh Kataria said it was the Congress workers who were carrying sticks and baseball bats. “They attacked the AAP workers and pelted stones,” he alleged.
The situation escalated, prompting the Ferozepur police to intervene. A police team led by DSPs Fateh Singh Brar and Gurdeep Singh fired several shots in the air to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.
Senior superintendent of police Saumya Mishra said that the police resorted to firing in the air to defuse the situation.
“So far, no bullet injuries have been reported; however, the victims sustained wounds from the stone-pelting during the clash. A detailed investigation is underway, and strict action will be taken against those found guilty,” she said.
The injured have been admitted to a local hospital, and the situation remains tense but under control.
The SSP added that the police were in the process of registering an FIR in the case after the preliminary investigations.
“We are registering a case under sections 109, 190, 191, 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, based on the statements of the policemen who controlled the situation by firing shots. Complaints from both parties are yet to be received, and once they approach police, the law will take its course, irrespective of any political affiliation,” the SSP added.
“The entire incident has been recorded on camera. Who pelted stone on whom first is a matter of investigation, and police were verifying all the aspects,” said Mishra.
Earlier on Monday, another firing incident was reported outside the Block Development Office in Ferozepur as candidates were on their way to file nominations, further escalating tensions in the area. The nomination process is scheduled to conclude on October 4.
Elections to gram panchayats will be held on October 15.
According to the election schedule, the last date for filing nomination papers is October 4. Scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on October 5, and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7.
Votes will be counted on the same day at the polling station itself.