Day on, Amritsar cops say they're not responsible for farmer's death

A day after the lathicharge on protesting farmers led to the death of a man in Amritsar on Friday night, the police on Saturday justified the action and claimed that the police were not responsible for the tragedy.

A day after the lathicharge on protesting farmers led to the death of a man in Amritsar on Friday night, thepolice on Saturday justified the action and& claimed that the police were not responsible for the tragedy. Amritsar police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh, who had ordered the lathicharge, said force was used by the cops to protect themselves and for the release of Powercom employees held hostage by the farmers.

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“I have sympathies for the family of the person killed. But I just want to say that he was not killed in police action and his body was spotted about a kilometre away from the place of action.” He added, “I had no option other than ordering lathicharge. My men were injured and many of them are in hospitals with fractured limbs and other injuries even now.”

The police even went to the extent of claiming that the deceased, identified as Bahadur Singh of village Bundala near Jandiala, was not a farmer. This claim was however trashed by the family members of the deceased, who claimed that he was an activist of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee (KSC) headed by Satnam Singh Pannu and had left village on February 20 for agitation.

"He was very much part of the KSC and had come here to take part in the dharna outside the Powercom office," said Angrej Singh, son of the deceased while standing outside the mortuary of the Government Medical College on Majithia Road.

The atmosphere outside the mortuary remained tense all through the day on Saturday as a large number of members of the KSC and the residents of Bundala had gathered there to take possession of the dead body after the post-mortem. A large police contingent also remained present, fearing retaliation from the farmers.