The Mansa district police have registered three first information reports (FIRs) and have begun identifying those involved in incidents of arson and hate speech during protests against the killing of the anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh, alias Jhota.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media, showing a mob leader making communal and hateful remarks against the business community. HT couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the videos. “Strict police action will be taken against anyone found forcing shopkeepers to shut their establishments or indulging in hooliganism in the name of agitation.
Police authorities said that in the first case, a mob had ransacked and torched accused Ashwani Kumar’s pharmacy shop on Wednesday, after he shot dead Jhota on October 13.
The DIG said the videos of the incidents are being analysed by the police technical wing to identify the culprits. He said that the committee, in consultation with the trading community, decided that all commercial establishments in the town would reopen from Friday after remaining shut for three consecutive days following the incident. Leaders of the protesting group have extended support to the decision of the administration,” the SSP said.
Bathinda police range deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Harjeet Singh said in Mansa on Friday that police initiated action after the Insaf Committee, which is seeking justice in the Jhota murder case, agreed to it at a meeting attended by Mansa deputy commissioner Navjot Kaur and SSP Vaibhav Chaudhary. The SSP said Neelam Rani, wife of the main accused, Kumar, was produced in court on Friday, and the duty magistrate sent her to six-day police custody.
