Jammu, May 24: “District Udhampur witnessed protests at several places today against the criminal assault on NPP president and former minister Harsh Dev Singh by SHO Udhampur Raghubir Choudary, with angry protestors raising slogans against Udhampur police and the LG administration,” the National Panthers Party said on Wednesday.
In a statement issued here, the NPP said the protestors sought immediate registration of FIR against the SHO and some other identified policemen and their arrest without further delay. “Such protests were held in Majalta, Ghordi, Khoon, and Chanunta,” it said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dina Nath, elected chairman of BDC Majalta, said, “The brutal attack on peacefully protesting NPP leader was the most heinous, disgraceful, and shameless act of the SHO and his colleagues. Such brazen barbarism by the police was unacceptable, and needed due cognisance of the authorities concerned at the earliest.”
“Harsh Dev was the lone voice of the poor, downtrodden and marginalised sections of society, and the said police misadventure against him had sparked massive outrage in the public against the delinquent officers,” Dina Nath said, adding, “Nothing short of the arrest of SHO Udhampur for his criminal conduct would be acceptable to the people”.
Des Raj, elected chairman of BDC Ramnagar, said, “Dozens of people were witness to the ugly episode wherein, the NPP leader was repeatedly hit by SHO Udhampur, thrown on the ground, dragged abused and manhandled in the most cruelest, savage manner. After all, what was his offence? Harsh Dev was only raising the concerns of the people, and that too in a democratic way. The police brutality and highhandedness were highly reprehensible.”
Senior NPP leaders Raj Kapoor and Dharam Singh said, “The people irrespective of caste, creed, and party affiliations, were up in arms against the brazen criminality of ‘uniformed goondas’.” They expressed all their support in seeking justice for the NPP stalwart and sought early arrest of Udhampur police officers before it was too late, the statement said.
