SP among six policemen booked on charge of torturing advocate in Punjab
Chandigarh (PTI): A case has been registered against six Punjab policemen, including a superintendent of police, in Muktsar district on the charges of subjecting an advocate to custodial torture, abetment of unnatural sex, wrongful confinement and causing threat to his life, police said on Tuesday.
The case was registered against Muktsar SP (Investigation) Ramandeep Singh Bhullar, CIA (crime investigating agency) in-charge and Inspector Raman Kumar Kamboj, constables Harbans Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh and home guard Dara Singh on Monday, according to the FIR.
Demanding the arrest and dismissal of the accused policemen, the members of the bar association of Punjab and Haryana High Court have announced that they will abstain from work.
Police on September 14 had arrested the advocate and another person following a complaint by the CIA in-charge Kamboj that they had allegedly assaulted a team of police officials and tore their uniforms.
After both were sent to judicial custody, the advocate alleged inhuman treatment by police.
Following his statement, the Muktsar Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in its September 22 order directed the police to register the case against the policemen.
"The statement of the victim is treated as complaint as per Section 2 (D) of the Criminal Procedure Code, in which prima facie cognizable offences of abetment of unnatural sex and causing injuries in wrongful confinement, causing threat to his life and liberty, shown," the court said in its order.
"From the perusal of his statement, there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against the police officials/officer named by him. Therefore, the concerned SHO (station house office) PS (police station) Sadar Sr Muktsar Sahib is directed to initiate investigation against the police officials after registering a case against them," the court ordered.
The policemen have been booked under relevant sections, including 377 (unnatural offences--whoever voluntarily has carnal inter course against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
