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Punjab assembly elections: SAD Atam Nagar candidate Harish Rai Dhanda gets dashboard cameras, presses for increased surveillance in aftermath of violence
In the aftermath of the recent violence in the assembly constituency, Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Atam Nagar candidate Harish Rai Dhanda installed dashboard cameras on all his vehicles and demanded increased checking of all vehicles belonging to candidates, including his rivals Simarjeet Singh Bains and Kamaljit Singh Karwal
In the aftermath of the recent violence in the assembly constituency, Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Atam Nagar candidate Harish Rai Dhanda installed dashboard cameras on all his vehicles.
“We have installed cameras following inputs that SAD workers could come under attack by the supporters of either of the political parties,” Dhanda said, while demanding that all vehicles belonging to all candidates, including his rivals Simarjeet Singh Bains and Kamaljit Singh Karwal be thoroughly checked.
“The supporters accompanying the candidates carry weapons like sickles, baseball bats and even illegal firearms. It is, therefore, prayed that all vehicles of candidates including mine and the accompanying vehicles should be periodically checked to eliminate possibility of carrying weapons,” he said.
Under fire following Monday’s violence in the sensitive Atam Nagar constituency in the run-up to elections, police today suspended station house officer (SHO) Labh Singh.
The move, however, has not gone down well with the SAD, with representatives claiming that high-ranking police officials were aware of possible clashes between both the groups and that the SHO has been made a scapegoat.
Accusing police of creating an atmosphere of fear, an SAD leader said, “The police are making a hero of the patty goon Bains. Police could have summoned Bains under 160 CrPC to join the investigation. There was no need to deploy so many officers in the district court complex and create an environment of fear.”
