Mansa: The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) has called for protests outside police stations across Punjab on Wednesday, October 28, against alleged police high-handedness in Mansa. The union has urged public and democratic organisations to join the demonstrations and demanded that the body of a deceased youth be handed over to his parents immediately.
Jagsir Singh Jawaharke, president of the union’s Mansa block unit, said a BKU Ekta-Ugrahan delegation led by senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke would participate prominently in the ongoing protest in Mansa.
Tensions escalated in the district after Daljit Singh, 32, a resident of Bhamme Kalan village and son of Jarnail Singh, reportedly died of a drug overdose. Villagers and others staged a protest on the Mansa-Sirsa highway, demanding action over the incident.
According to the account, Daljit’s family and villagers later agreed to take his body to the protest site in Mansa, where a demonstration has been underway in support of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhotta. Jhotta’s father also travelled to Bhamme Kalan to express condolences to the bereaved family.
As a group of young men and Nihang Sikhs began transporting the body towards Mansa, police personnel stopped their vehicles near Ramdittewala Chowk by placing trucks in their path. A confrontation reportedly followed between the police and the group.
The report alleges that police seized the body after the group refused to hand it over and took it to an undisclosed location. It also alleges that some youths and Nihang Sikhs were forcibly put into a vehicle. The union has demanded the immediate return of the body to the family.
