YOUTH CONSUMES POISON AT POLICE STATION, ALLEGES HARASSMENT AND BRIBERY

Naresh Kumar/Barnala

A youth allegedly consumed a poisonous substance at Dhanaula police station here on Thursday morning, claiming that he was being harassed by police officials over a complaint regarding a car fire and had been asked to pay money for a DDR.

The youth, identified as Jobanpreet Singh, made a nearly three-minute video before consuming the substance and released it on social media, levelling allegations of bribery against police personnel and a revenue official.

According to the video, Jobanpreet said his car caught fire due to a short circuit 17 days ago and he needed a DDR from the police to process an insurance claim. He alleged that he had been visiting the police station for about a week and that a munshi, identified as Pamma, accused him of deliberately setting his car on fire. He also alleged that he was repeatedly asked to pay money and claimed that amounts of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 were demanded from him at different times.

Jobanpreet said that a village panchayat had intervened in the matter and that members and the sarpanch had signed documents. He alleged that although SHO Manjit Singh was ready to provide the DDR, the munshi later told him that the surveyor would first approach him and that he would allege that the car had been deliberately set on fire.

The youth also levelled an allegation of a Rs 5 lakh bribe against a patwari identified as Gurwinder in connection with a land dispute in Balian village, which he claimed was in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home constituency Dhuri.
He alleged that the patwari had tampered with revenue records and executed a power of attorney in favour of his uncle, who lives in Sangrur, after allegedly taking Rs 5 lakh.

Jobanpreet named the munshi, the patwari and SHO Manjit Singh as allegedly responsible for his condition.

He was subsequently admitted to a private hospital in Barnala, where his condition was stated to be stable.

In another video, a man claiming to be Jobanpreet’s brother alleged that the SHO took away the youth’s mobile phone after the incident and that police personnel subsequently closed the main gate of the police station.

Barnala SSP Mohammad Sarfaraz Alam, IPS, said the youth had been admitted to a private hospital and had raised two issues involving allegations against two police personnel and a patwari. “The allegations are being investigated and action will be taken on the basis of the findings,” the SSP said.