Chandigarh, Sep 4 (IANS) Congress’ Punjab unit President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday condemned the detention and “torture” of protester Mohanjit Singh Sidhu, who had waved a black flag at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Raja Warring accused Mann of having started behaving like Ahmed Shah Abdali, “probably believing that he was to rule forever”.
The Congress leader also said he had written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urging it to investigate the torture of the youth by Punjab Police after he waved a black flag at the Chief Minister’s convoy as a mark of protest against the government.
In a letter to the NHRC Chairperson, he alleged that Sidhu was brutally tortured in police custody and subjected to electric shocks following his arrest.
He further said that Sidhu had claimed that police personnel forcibly administered drugs to him and subsequently conducted his dope test, which returned positive.
The Punjab Police has now registered a first information report (FIR) against Sidhu for allegedly consuming drugs, Raja Warring said, describing the case as a “fabricated FIR”.
“The matter may kindly be investigated and all those, particularly the police personnel responsible for torture and the fabricated FIR, must be severely dealt with,” he said in his letter.
The Punjab Congress chief said that the incident was indicative of “police brutality and barbarity” under the Aam Aadmi Party government headed by Mann.
Warring, who is the Congress MP from Ludhiana, sought appropriate action against those guilty cops who resorted to torturing Sidhu.
Later, interacting with the media, the PCC president said that the Congress stood by Sidhu. He said that while the Congress Legislative Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa had met him (Sidhu) on Friday, he would be going later to see him. He also announced that the Congress will hold a massive protest on September 8 against the corruption by the AAP government, which had crossed all limits.
To a question on senior party leader Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit to Punjab, he said the dates are being finalised and these will be announced very soon.
–IANS
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