Top cop on alert after gherao threat

Top cop on alert after gherao threat
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 11
Taking an ‘extra’ precautionary measure to foil the Congress announced gherao, the SSP today sealed the roads leading to his residence by deputing huge number of cops and installing barricades. However, the Congress activists did not turn up to lodge their protest as per their announcement.

It may be mentioned that Raninder Singh, the Congress candidate for the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat and son of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, during his press-meet on Saturday, had announced to gherao the SSP on Monday, if their demand regarding registration of a criminal case against some accused SAD (B) leaders was not met.
On Sunday, following a protest of Congress workers outside the Sadar police station here, an attempt to murder case was registered against the chairman of the SAD-affiliated Block Samiti, Vir Bahadur Singh. Satisfied, the Congress workers had deferred their move for Monday.
When contacted in the morning, the SSP, Ashish Chaudhary, was not aware about the gherao being deferred. He said, “I have taken a preventive step to avoid any untoward situation.”
Later, he instructed for removing the barricades and ordered the deputed cops to go back to their duties.
A senior officer from the civil administration said, “If the police chief is so ‘frightened’ by a simple call of gherao, then what about us, who are gheraoed regularly by farmers, teachers, doctors and other unemployed staff.”