Jammu: Expressing strong annoyance over the immunity granted to BJP workers who, of late, have been physically assaulting the JKNPP leadership including its female activists besides hurling open threats of physical elimination upon them, scores of Panthers Party workers including dozens of female activists led by its Chairman and Former Minister Harsh Dev Singh today held a massive dharna and protest outside the office of IGP Jammu at Zonal Headquarters.
The protestors alleging murderous assault upon JKNPP leaders Harsh Dev Singh and his wife Manju Singh besides some local NPP leaders sought immediate arrest of the criminals who, they said, were being sheltered by the Police at the behest of their political bosses.
They raised slogans against Police Deptt accusing it of working as agents of the BJP besides raising slogans of ‘BJP murdabaad’ and ‘SSP Udhampur murdabaad’. The agitated protestors showed black flags to the CM Mehbooba Mufti who passed through the venue of protest accusing her of shielding corrupt and biased police officers.
Speaking on the occasion, Harsh Dev Singh said that some vandals and criminals owing allegiance to BJP had been assigned the charge of physically eliminating the Panthers leaders in which some police officers of District Udhampur had been conniving. He said that apart from attacks on him and his wife several video-graphed threats of physically eliminating him had been provided to police which however had refused to take any action against the offenders.
Making a mention of the recent episode of 14-05-2018, Harsh Dev Singh said that a BJP worker addressed a gathering in HSS Basantgarh during office hours in the presence of local BJP MLA and local SHO where he not only used highly vituperative, offensive and provocative language but threatened that he would have spilled the blood of Panthers Party leaders with their dead bodies squatted on the ground in case the Panthers Chairman did not have PSOs. His video-graphed speech is being widely circulated in social media with police also having the requisite details of the same but the SHO too has colluded and no cognizance taken.
Likewise on 17th March, Singh said that he and his wife, Manju Singh were assaulted by the very same person at Kuh Nala alongwith several other notorious characters including Ramiez Sheikh and Makhan Bandral while they were on their way to their ancestral village Chanunta. And rather than booking the culprits, the police had registered cases against him and his wife, pointed a dismayed Harsh.
Manju Singh General Secretary NPP said that her husband had been receiving threats of physical elimination from several BJP workers in the past and several notorious characters belonging to BJP had issued threats of killing her husband in open public meetings which were video-graphed and relevant footage provided to police authorities which, however, had refused to take cognizance because of political patronage enjoyed by the offenders. She said that abusive language and filthy comments were also posted by these notorious characters against her and her husband on the social media with a view to cause provocation whose print outs were also provided to the Police authorities for appropriate action which was still awaited.
She demanded withdrawal of the frivolous FIR registered against her and Singh and sought immediate arrest of the criminals and all others involved in the conspiracy. “How Mehbooba led govt could grant immunity to those who assaulted a woman in full public view? Being a woman your silence against the perpetrators challenging the dignity of the women only shows the impuissance of the dispensation you are running. Justice delayed is justice denied”, anguished Manju Singh said. She announced to issue a regular calendar of protests in case the culprits involved in the dastardly attack on her and her husband were not brought to book.