Chandigarh: The protest against the brutal assault of an Army Colonel and his son by a group of 12 Punjab police personnel, who included three inspectors and were allegedly heavily drunk, late on March 13 night, intensified on Saturday with his wife and score of ex-servicemen staging a day-long protest in Patiala against the Punjab police demanding immediate arrest of the accused cops.
On Friday, the issue had rocked the state assembly on the opening day of the Punjab budget session and the Congress members had staged a walkout over the incident demanding an inquiry by a sitting or retired high court judge into the case.
Also, the protest comes a day after the state police registered a fresh FIR based on the statement of Col Pushpinder Singh Bath and formed a high-level special investigation team (SIT).
Demanding immediate arrest and dismissal of the accused cops and speedy inquiry into the case, Jasvinder Kaur, wife of victim Col Bath, addressed the ex-servicemen at length about what she termed as brutality of the policemen, also demanded an inquiry into the case by CBI.
Condemning the incident, the BJP leader and former MP Preneet Kaur, who is wife of former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, also joined the protest. She also demanded that army officials should be included in the SIT and said that since army, government and police is involved, a joint SIT should include army, police officials and a judge.
It may be recalled that the wife of the assaulted army officer, had met Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday who advised the state DGP to register an FIR on the basis of the Colonel's statement.
For record, Col Bath and his son were mercilessly assaulted by accused Punjab police personnel on the intervening night of March 13 and 14 when the two were having food at a roadside eatery near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. The incident reportedly took place when the cops – who were in civil dress and drunk – rudely asked the army officer to move his car as they wanted to park theirs.
They brutally assaulted father and son when the former objected to their rude tone. The Colonel’s arm was broken and his son suffered head injuries in the assault. The entire incident was recorded in a CCTV camera installed at the eatery.
The police had earlier refused to register an FIR and later allegedly attempted to hide the names of some cops. The case came to light after army officer’s wife addressed newspersons in Chandigarh and Patiala with CCTV footages and also the recording done by her in her phone showing some of accused cops apologising for the said assault stating ``they did not know the person they beat up was an army officer’’.
