BHUBANESWAR: The release of three persons accused of attacking Sikh man Parvinder Pal Singh within a day of the incident and late-night visit of local MLA Anant Narayan Jena to Singh’s house have come in for strong criticism.
Parvinder was mercilessly thrashed by the son of a former corporator and his associates in front of his apartment in Laxmisagar area over vehicle parking issue on Tuesday.
The Sikh man, who filed a case with Laxmisagar police, has accused Commissionerate Police of complicity with the accused leading to inadequate action. Three of the accused, who were arrested for the attack, managed to secure bail on Wednesday. Parvinder claimed that he had clearly mentioned about the attack in his complaint but police did not book his attackers under stringent Sections, including Section 307 of IPC.
“My lawyers said the attackers could have been booked under more stringent Sections of IPC. It seems that police were under the coercion of attackers and did not act as the case demanded,” he alleged.
However, police maintained the incident and injuries which Singh sustained did not fit into cases registered under Section 307 of IPC. A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed one of the miscreants hitting Singh with a brick, while his associates punched him in front of the apartment where he lives under Laxmisagar police limits. In the video, one of the PCR van personnel could also be seen talking over mobile phone when Singh was being beaten.
Meanwhile, the late-night visit of Jena and police officer Anup Kanungo to the residence of Parvinder has come in for strong criticism from Congress and BJP. Parvinder’s wife said, “We were sleeping when at 1.10 am, we heard the doorbell ring. I saw three to four persons standing in front of our house and was apprehensive. As I did not know them, I did not open the door.” They again came in the morning and assured us about our safety. They should have come in the evening and not late in the night, she added.
BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan has filed a complaint at Laxmisagar police station against Jena and DSP Anup Kanungo alleging that both visited Parvinder’s house late night to threaten him.
Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja said a case under IPC 307 was slapped on an accused for pelting eggs at Chief Minister’s vehicle but when a common man is brutally attacked, the accused are framed with so lesser charges that they were out on bail in just four hours of their arrest.
Jena, however, said he had visited Parvinder’s house along with Satpal Singh, president of Gurudwara Guru Nanak Baoli Sahib, to express solidarity with him. “I visited his house again on Thursday morning and assured him that we are with him,” he added.
No link with Mangu Mutt demolition: Sikh Board
Bhubaneswar: The Orissa Sikh Pratinidhi Board (OSPB) has condemned attempt by some people with vested interest to connect assault on Sardar Parvinder Pal Singh with demolition of Mangu Mutt at Puri. “This was purely a sporadic incident. It is unfortunate that some people with vested interest are trying to connect this case with Mangu Mutt incident and giving it a different colour,” president of OSPB Mahinder Singh Kalsi said in a release. Condemning the assault, Kalsi said, “We feel very safe and secure in Odisha and have made it our home. Odisha has always stood by us and we request everyone not to believe in any motivated representation of the incident and maintain peace and harmony.”
Stating that OSPB is satisfied with police action, Kalsi said FIR has been filed at Laxmisagar PS and in-charge of the PCR van has been dismissed for failing to prevent the attack and all the three accused were arrested and forwarded to court on January 15. The Commissioner of Police has assured to submit the chargesheet within three days for the accused persons to stand trial in the court and make a request for fast-tracking the trial, he said and added, “We have full faith in the country’s judicial process.”
“The local MLA along with some high ranking police officials visited the victim’s residence and conveyed that the CM has shown concern over the matter and assured all help to the family. We are in touch with the law enforcement agencies and will help Parvinder in all possible ways,” he said.