CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Wednesday transferred an SHO for lodging an attempt to murder case against farm law protesters who had allegedly dumped cow dung at a BJP leader's house and also ordered withdrawal of the charge.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the station house officer had gone overboard in registering a case under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code after the protest in Hoshiarpur last week.
Police had booked a group of people protesting over the Centre's new farm laws under different IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder), after they unloaded a dung-laden trolley in front of BJP leader Tikshan Sud's house last Friday.
"There was no attempt to murder," Amarinder Singh said, according to an official statement issued after he had ordered withdrawing the charge.
The CM also ordered the SHO's transfer.
The Hoshiarpur case is now being probed by a special investigation team (SIT), the statement said.
Earlier, members of farmer and labour unions had blocked traffic, protesting against the registration of the case.
The chief minister again urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the new laws, over which thousands of Punjab farmers are protesting at the borders of the national capital.
The Centre can bring in fresh laws after consultation with farmers, he said.
He said Punjab was the first state to oppose the central laws, recalling the amendments passed in the Vidhan Sabha to 'negate' their impact.
The Punjab Bills, however, have not got the assent of the state Governor.
Singh said Punjab would not allow the lives of its farmers to be 'ruined' by the new laws.
"We will do whatever possible to help the farmers and their families, for whom the state government had already started two help lines on which they could reach out in case of any emergency," he said.
He urged the prime minister to talk with the protesting farmers.
"The farmers have made their stand very clear --- that the laws should be repealed. It is the job of the Government of India to listen to them," his statement said.
The CM said the Constitution has been amended many times and this can be done again for the revocation of the new laws.
Farmer unions say the new agri-marketing laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system.
But the Centre has argued that they give farmers more options to sell their produce.