Udhampur, May 23: National Panthers Party (NPP) leaders on Tuesday met the DC Udhampur and SSP Udhampur seeking the arrest of SHO Udhampur and his four colleagues alleging criminal assault, filthy abuses and threats of elimination hurled upon Harsh Dev Singh, former Minister and President JKNPP, the party said in a statement.
The memorandum, according to the statement issued here, reads: “Yesterday on 22nd May 2023 while Harsh Dev Singh Former Minister and NPP chief was holding a peaceful dharna outside Police Station Udhampur, he was assaulted, thrashed, kicked, abused and dragged on the ground by the SHO Udhampur and four other policemen. The NPP chief was sitting on a dharna and staging a peaceful protest against police high handedness and harassment of innocent civilians while allowing bovine smuggling, illegal mining and hobnobbing with liquor mafia and drug mafia.”
“The SHO Udhampur reached the spot and rather than asking the NPP leader and others the reason for dharna pounced upon Harsh Dev Singh and threw him on the ground. He was dragged, kicked and thrashed resulting in several injuries on his person. He was beaten inside the Police Station. The SHO further threatened to hold an encounter of Harsh Dev Singh. His wife Manju Singh was also assaulted and beaten and threats of elimination and filthy abuses were hurled at her. It is strange that one police officer was heard hurling filthiest abuses upon Harsh Dev Singh in the video and another was winking at other policemen meaning thereby that their job was accomplished,” the NPP alleged in the memorandum.
“The criminal acts committed by the SHO and his accomplices need immediate cognizance of the district administration and we request for immediate FIR and the arrest of delinquent police officers. Such kind of barbaric acts on the part of the police is unheard in the history of district Udhampur or even in J&K,” the party said, adding, “If the action is not taken against the uniformed goondas immediately, we shall hold massive protests at Udhampur from 25th May onwards.”
The memorandum was signed by six BDC Chairpersons and DDC of the Panthers Party, the statement said.