Chandigarh, September 8: The son of slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati on Friday alleged that the then Patiala MP Preneet Kaur; Congress leader Harminder Singh Jassi; and BIS Chahal, the then media adviser to the Punjab CM; had tried to put pressure on the CBI in favour of the Sirsa Dera head in 2005.
Chhatrapati, editor of local eveninger ‘Poora Sach’, had been shot at, allegedly by Dera Sacha Sauda men, on October 24, 2002, for exposing rape of sadhvis by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Chhatrapati died a month later.Addressing a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club here, Anshul Chhatrapati alleged that when the CBI summoned the Dera head to New Delhi in 2005, Preneet camped in the national capital and tried to influence the investigating agency.
He alleged that when the CBI team arrived in Sirsa to question the Dera head, Chahal and Jassi tried to put pressure on it. Naming these three, Anshul claimed that other leaders had also tried to exert pressure on the agency.Preneet is the wife of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Jassi a relative of the Dera head.
Anshul alleged that Haryana Police did not register his father’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC. He alleged that the Haryana government at that time also did not lend any support to the family. Not even a single politician came forward in support of the two sadhvis, he claimed.
He said he saluted the courage shown by the two sadhvis, CBI officer Satish Dagar, the judiciary and the media.
He said Haryana Police were not so weak that they could not tackle with people like the Dera chief but the government should give them a free hand. He claimed that the police were competent but they shielded the Dera chief following pressure by the government.
He said he was neither influenced by the ideology of any party nor was he associated with any of them.
Anshul said the INLD, Congress and BJP governments in Haryana all this while were looking for votes and they did not look for victims. A similar situation prevailed in Punjab with the SAD and Congress. “Es hamam mein sabhi nange hain,” he said.
He also came down heavily on the state BJP leaders for “making a beeline to the Dera and donating liberally to it” saying it showed their mindset. Many BJP leaders had visited the Dera in recent times and sanctioned state projects to it, he claimed.
He demanded that the Enforcement Directorate should investigate the Dera income through films and other sources.The son of the slain journalist said his fight to get justice for his father would continue. He urged the media to fight against the system so that people like Gauri Lankesh and Chhatrapati were not targeted.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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