PHAGWARA, April 15: A violent clash between Dalit group and right wing group on Amritsar – Delhi National Highway left two Dalits injured. Both the men recieved bullet injuries in clash which ensued on Friday midnight. One of the injured is said to be critical and has been admitted in a tertiary care hospital in Ludhiana.
Tension started to brew after Dalit activists led by Ambedkar Sena put up a hoarding at Goal Chowk, which is on Amritsar – Delhi National Highway, in the late evening to ‘name’ it is as Sanvidhaan Chowk on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. However, Hindu groups including different factions of Shiv Sena objected to it and converged near the chowk demanding its removal.
Even as police negotiated with both sides for a couple of hours but just before midnight both the sides came face to face and started pelting stones. Gun shots were also heard and it two Dalit activists received bullet injuries. Dalit leaders alleged that Hindu leaders fired at them and that too when police were present.
The injured were rushed to local Civil Hospital from where they were taken to Ludhiana hospital. While one youth Kulwinder Kumar of village Bhullarai received a bullet in pelvic region, the other youth was hit on his head. He was first rushed to a neuro care centre in Jalandhar from where he was sent to DMC Hospital Ludhiana where his condition is stated to be serious.
“The clash started after hoarding put up by Dalit activists were torn by the Hindu groups. This happened even as I had persuaded the Dalit activists to remove it after talking to Phagwara ADC Babita Kler and police officials. Any action on the hoarding should have been taken by the administration and not by the Hindu groups,” said Lok Insaaf Party leader Jarnail Nangal, who was roped in by the administration in negotiations to sort out the issue at around 10 PM.
“We had put up the hoarding as local Municipal Corporation had unanimously passed a resolution to name the chowk as Sanvidhaan Chowk after a representation moved by us,” said Ambedkar Sena (Mool Niwasi) president Harbhajan Suman.
It is learnt that three other persons received minor injuries due to stone pelting. In the morning Dalit community members beat up Shiv Sena (Punjab) president Rajesh Palta at Valmiki chowk.
Kapurthala SSP Sandeep Sharma said they had received complaints about two persons receiving bullet injuries. He said a case has been registered in which leaders of both the sides have been named while others remained unidentified. Prominent among those from Hindu groups who have been named in the FIR are Inderjit Karwal, Deepak Bharadwaj, Rajesh Palta, Shive Batta, Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Ballu Walia. Those from the other side include Jarnail Nangal, Harbhajan Suman and Yash Barna.
News Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
