Attack on Pathankot martyr's family: Police submits report to CM
Chandigarh: The Punjab police on Monday submitted a detailed report to Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on the reported assault on family members of Pathankot martyr Kulwant Singh and said a manhunt had been to nab the absconding culprits. Taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, which went viral on the social media on Sunday, the Punjab Chief Minister had directed the DGP to initiate a thorough probe and ensure that the family of the martyred Hawaldar is provided full protection. Acting on the Chief Minister’s directives, the DGP ordered an immediate investigation into the matter. The investigation team found that Kulwant’s brother Hardeep had given a sum of Rs. 9 lakh to an agent, Gurnam Singh of Chak Sharif, to send him to the USA in 2015. After he failed to send Hardeep to America, the agent returned Rs. 3.4 lakh while deducting Rs. 1.6 lakh for expenses. For the balance amount, an affidavit was signed by the agent promising refund of Rs. 4 lakh in due course. However, as per the report submitted to the Chief Minister, the agent made one excuse after another for not returning the money, whereby Hardeep threatened him with a police complaint. The Chak Sharif village sarpanch intervened in a bid to resolve the issue but failed, leading to a heated argument between the parties. The sarpanch then advised Hardeep to report the matter to the police. The assault took place when Hardeep and his wife stopped at a shop to recharge their phone on way to the police station. Gurnam and his family members, including women, beat up Hardeep and his wife inside the shop, which was captured by a CCTV, according to the police report. An FIR dated May 14, 2017 has been registered under sections 323,341,354,148 & 149 of the IPC at police station Bhaini Mian Khan. Ten accused have been named in the FIR based on the statement of Kulwinder Kaur, wife of Hardeep. All the accused are absconding and police teams have been dispatched to arrest them, the Chief Minister has been informed. The Chief Minister has directed the DGP to take all necessary steps to ensure that the culprits are arrested and booked at the earliest. Such brazen lawlessness will not be tolerated, the Chief Minister has warned, directing the DGP to send a strong signal down the line to all policemen to be on their toes to ensure protection of the common citizens of the state. The Chief Minister has already initiated a series of measures to cut down on non-essential duties, including reduction of VIP security, to enable policemen to concentrate on the maintenance of law and order, which had witnessed a major downward spiral during the previous Akali regime. Captain Amarinder also recently ordered immediate steps to fill up the 4000-odd vacancies at various levels in the police force, along with annual recruitment of 2000 cops to fill in the vacancies created every year due to retirement. — PTC News
