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YPS Chowk blockade: Hope to see protesters shifted by August, HC tells Punjab, Chandigarh
The rotary, near the Chandigarh-Mohali border, has been completely blocked due to the protest by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha that has been demanding release of Sikh prisoners, majorly hitting inter-city movement of traffic
The Punjab and Haryana high court has deferred hearing on a plea seeking removal of protesters from YPS Chowk, blocked for traffic since January, for August 3.
“proceedings are deferred, with the hope that the court, on the next date of hearing, can be informed of the fact that the protesters have been successfully asked to shift to alternative sites, which are designated or can be designated, so that inconvenience is not caused to the general public as it is not disputed that the road in question is one of the main roads that connects Mohali to Chandigarh, though there are parallel roads also,” the high court bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Harpeet Kaur Jeewan observed, lamenting that the protest was still going on even as Punjab’s DGP was summoned in May, seeing failure of the authorities in removing the protesters.
The rotary, near the Chandigarh-Mohali border, has been completely blocked due to the protest by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha that has been demanding release of Sikh prisoners, majorly hitting inter-city movement of traffic.
The plea moved by NGO ArriveSAFE demands that protesters be removed from the site as it was causing inconvenience to locals, especially school goers. Since March 10, when the PIL was taken up for the first time, the matter has been heard on five occasions and hearings have been deferred on assurances that a peaceful resolution will be made.
During the latest hearing, the Punjab’s advocate general informed the court that steps are being taken to resolve the issue.
The court observed that the protesters are sitting at such a place that it could be...in Chandigarh as the border is porous and therefore, the responsibility of removing them from the site may be of both Punjab and Chandigarh. Now, the court has also sought an affidavit from the Chandigarh administration as it was apprised that major part of the dharna was in the area falling in Chandigarh.
The site has seen multiple incidents of violence. On February 8, protesters had clashed with police forces at the Sector 52/53 dividing road after being stopped from marching towards Chandigarh, leaving at least 33 cops injured. Terming it a “well-thought-out conspiracy”, Chandigarh Police had booked six persons and put around 30 on the suspect list.
On March 24, the decomposed body of Surjit Singh, a Nihang from Ludhiana, was found in one of the tents at YPS Chowk. Police had claimed there was no injury mark, but have not revealed cause of death so far.
Then on April 9, Nihangs armed with swords had clashed with each other, following which police had booked nine for attempt to murder and rioting. Another man was found dead near the protest site on April 12. Police had attributed the death to cardiac arrest.
