With a crepe bandage on her left arm, Punjab Students Union (PSU) Mansa district president Arwinder Kaur Azad returned to the protest site in Mansa on Thursday, a day after the police released her at her native village, Ajnauda Khurd, in Patiala district.
She alleged that the police had thrashed her and other protesters while forcing them into police vehicles on Tuesday, even though they were unarmed.
Arwinder is reportedly the only protester to have been released so far among the 20-30 persons detained on Tuesday. Those detained included gangster-turned-politician Lakhvir Singh Lakha Sidhana and Mohanjit Singh Sheron, who had recently shown a black flag to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during his visit to Sheron village in Sangrur district.
Both were formally arrested and produced before a Mansa court through video conferencing on Thursday. They were subsequently sent to four-day police custody in connection with an attempt to murder case registered against unidentified persons following an alleged attack on a police personnel on Tuesday.
Arwinder had been camping at the protest site since October 13, following the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota. She was detained on Tuesday when protesters were bringing the body of 32-year-old farmer Daljit Singh from his native village, Bhamme Kalan, to Mansa town. Daljit had allegedly died of a drug overdose, and the protesters were demanding justice.
“The police thrashed us. They first took us to a local police station and then kept moving us from one place to another until midnight. Later, we were taken to the Nandgarh police station in Bathinda. After keeping us on the move throughout the day, they finally released me at my village, Ajnauda Khurd, in Patiala district on Wednesday evening,” she said.
She said she had questioned the police over her release while the others remained in custody. “I refused to leave and said everyone should be released. I asked the police why only I was being let off. Daljit’s father, cousin and other relatives were also detained along with us,” she said.
Arwinder maintained that none of the protesters was carrying a weapon when they were bringing Daljit’s body to Mansa.
“I had no weapon, and neither did anyone else. Let the police do whatever it wants. We will stand with the people of Punjab until Parvinder Singh Jhota gets justice. We will not bow down to the police over what it did to us that day,” she said.
She also demanded an explanation from the police about the circumstances surrounding Daljit’s death, which has triggered fresh tension in Mansa amid the ongoing protest over Jhota’s killing.
“How did Daljit die? The police should explain this,” she said.
The police had on Wednesday registered a case against 30-40 unidentified persons on the complaint of Kuldeep Singh, a Punjab Armed Police (PAP) personnel posted with the ARP in Ferozepur.
In his complaint, Kuldeep said he had been deployed for law and order duty in Mansa since October 13. He alleged that on October 27, while on duty at Ramdittewala Chowk, he learnt that some people were taking away the body of a youth from Bhamme Kalan.
At around 5.30 pm, when senior officers tried to stop the group, 30-40 persons allegedly armed with sharp-edged weapons attacked the police, the FIR stated.
The complainant alleged that one of the protesters hit him on the head with an iron rod, causing a serious injury. Other police personnel were also injured, and their uniforms were torn during the scuffle. He further alleged that the group tried to ram vehicles into police personnel and obstructed government duty. He said he could identify the attackers and sought legal action against them.
The other protesters allegedly remain in police custody, but their whereabouts are yet to be ascertained.
At the protest site on Thursday, Jhota’s mother honoured Arwinder for her role in the ongoing fight for justice. She also handed her an envelope containing money collected from the anti-drug task force formed by Jhota, saying Arwinder belonged to a poor family.
