Police station vandalised over alleged custodial death in Davanagere
Davanagere, Karnataka: A police station was vandalised in Channagiri town in the district and several vehicles were set on fire by a violent mob over an alleged custodial death, during the small hours of Saturday.
Adil (30) was detained on May 24 for his alleged involvement in gambling activities in the district, police said adding his health condition deteriorated and he died last night.
As the news of the man's death spread, his relatives along with a large group of people went on a rampage, damaging police vehicles and hurling stones at the police station, alleging that he died in custody.
Davanagere Superintendent of Police Uma Prashanth said the body has been shifted to the government hospital and it will be handed over to the family members after postmortem.
According to the SP, police are patrolling the area and additional forces have been deployed in Channagiri. Action will be taken based on the postmortem report.
The autopsy will be conducted in the presence of a Magistrate, she said. The police claimed that the accused died within six to seven minutes after being brought to the station.
"His parents are also aware of it and they have been convinced," Prashanth said.
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Top Akali Dal leaders hold separate meeting, seek change in party leadership
Chandigarh: A rebellion seems to be brewing in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) after a section of senior leaders held a separate meeting in Jalandhar and skipped a meeting called by party president Sukhbir Badal in Chandigarh.
The rebel leaders spoke on the need for a change in the party following SAD's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, while addressing a press conference after their meeting in Jalandhar,
Among those present at the rebel meeting were Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sikander Singh Maluka, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, and Sarwan Singh Phillaur. They announced plans to launch a 'SAD Bachao' movement next month.
"It was discussed seriously as to why Akali Dal has become so weak... We have fallen from the sky to the ground. A change in the party is necessary," said Prem Singh Chandumajra.
Another rebel leader, Bibi Jagir Kaur, accused Sukhbir Singh Badal of ignoring party leaders. "All supporters of SAD are worried about how to rise back from the situation in which we are. We have tried to speak to the party chief (Sukhbir Singh Badal) but he never listens to us. He does not try to rectify the shortcomings," Kaur said, as quoted by ANI.
"We are worried about why the people of Punjab are not accepting us... We will go to the Akal Takht Sahib on July 1 and ask for forgiveness for the losses that occurred because of our silence," she added.
Meanwhile, Sukhbir Badal held a meeting with district presidents and other leaders in Chandigarh to review the party's performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The SAD managed to secure only one of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in the elections, with their vote share plummeting to 13.42 percent from 27.45 percent in 2019.
Responding to the rebel leaders' meeting in Jalandhar, the Akali Dal described the dissenters as "frustrated elements sponsored by the BJP" trying to "weaken" the party.
Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema remarked that the rebel leaders should have waited for the working committee meeting on June 26 before holding a separate meeting. "In a democracy, there is always a difference of opinion... If one or two people have a difference of opinion, then it is not a revolt," Cheema stated.
"The meeting of the working committee is on June 26. If you express your opinion before the meeting, then that becomes doubtful. It looks preplanned. It looks as if you are not interested in the improvement or the upliftment of the party, and you said something just because you wanted to. Otherwise, there was a need to wait. They should have participated and listened to what others had to say. After that, they could have presented their view," Cheema added, according to ANI.
