UAPA cases: 5 opposition MLAs, two others demand probe

In a memorandum to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira and other leaders claimed that Sikh youth, particularly poor Dalits, were being falsely implicated and arrested under the UAPA by the central as well as state governments

Chandigarh Five opposition MLAs and two others, led by Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira, on Thursday demanded an impartial probe into the alleged false implication and arrests of Sikh youth under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, in the state.

Sukhpal Singh Khaira (HT file)

In a memorandum to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Khaira and other leaders said that Sikh youth, particularly poor Dalits, were being falsely implicated and arrested under the UAPA by the central as well as state governments in the garb of tackling the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)-sponsored Referendum 2020 campaign.

They urged the government to order an impartial probe, preferably a judicial inquiry, or by vendetta commission head justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retired) keeping in view the “gravity of excesses being committed upon innocent Sikh youths”. The memorandum was signed by former MP Dharamvira Gandhi, former minister Sucha Singh Chhotepur, and MLAs Khaira, Kanwar Sandhu, Jagdev Singh Kamalu, Pirmal Singh Khalsa and Jagtar Singh Jagga. All seven are either erstwhile or rebel leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

They said that under the draconian law, more than 16 FIRs have been registered during the recent weeks across Punjab while 47 FIRs have been registered during the three years tenure of Congress government, in which utterly poor, defenseless and innocent people have been arrested. “We have personally conducted spot visits and done a deep case study of some of these cases, which proves that most people arrested under the said law are innocent and have been falsely implicated, declaring them Khalistani modules, terrorists, etc,” they wrote to the CM, sharing details of four FIRs registered under the anti-terror law.