Terming the storming of the police station in Ajnala by ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh and his supporters earlier this week for the release of his aide as “worrisome”, veteran journalist and former MLA Kanwar Sandhu has said the situation can get better in the state if Punjab Police and AAP government in the state take appropriate steps.
Talking to ANI, he also said that policing was a serious business, especially in a border state like Punjab, and the state should have a fully dedicated Home Minister.
“There is no talk towards Khalistan… I think it is too premature to jump to that conclusion. Whatever happened in Ajnala, I think it is worrisome. It seems like the police were not ready or they had no idea this was going to happen. I wish the police were well prepared,” Sandhu told ANI.
He was responding to queries in the wake of the Ajnala incident which has caused widespread concern.
Thousands of supporters of Amritpal Singh, a Khalistan sympathizer, had on Thursday staged a massive demonstration in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of his aide Lovepreet Singh Toofan.
The supporters, who were holding swords and guns in their hands, broke through police barricades erected outside Ajnala Police Station.
The police later said that “in the light of the evidence presented” it has been decided that Lovepreet Singh Toofan will be discharged.
Lovepreet Singh was released from jail on Friday following orders of a court in Ajnala on an application by the police.
A day after Ajnala incident in which some policemen were injured, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that appropriate action will be taken against the people involved.
Sandhu, a former Editor of Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Day & Night News and The Tribune in Chandigarh, raised questions over the decisions of police and state government authorities and said it looked as if the mob was controlling the situation.
“As they are talking about the incident of Ajnala, the person who was arrested earlier, the police should have investigated before arresting the person whether he was involved or not. If he was involved, then evidence should have been collected. Now, it has become a kind of spectacle when you arrest someone, keep him in your custody and when the mob gathers and takes over the police station and the mob is giving you the evidence that this person is not involved. You are assuring him that you will release him. What kind of policing is this? What kind of governance is this? It looks like the mob is controlling the situation,” he said.
Asked if the Khalistan issue could be raised again, Sandhu said it is obvious that people outside Punjab “will guess that perhaps this Khalistan issue is emerging again”.
“The situation is definitely worrying.”
The veteran journalist said that it seems that the police were neither prepared for the incident nor had done their homework.
“When Amritpal Singh had threatened the police, then immediately police should have held a conference to find out that the person they have verified… that the arrest is legal and justified. If they had already done their assessment then, maybe, when the protest started they would have released him from jail or maybe they would have satisfied the protesters by showing them the evidence they had against the person. But it seemed as if the police did not have any evidence. When the crowd gave them the evidence that the person was not involved at all and he was not even there, then the police said that they will release him,” he said.
Sandhu, a former MLA from Kharar, said similar incidences had occurred during the initial phase of militancy in Punjab.
“What happened after 1980, what happened in 1984, after that whatever happened in the decade of 1980-90, whatever happened at that time started like this and this is a matter of concern. In those days also similar cases were registered, people were caught and released and when the pressure was created, police said that now we will not arrest anyone at the time too, the matter started like this.”
Sandhu said Punjab police and the state government should take steps to control the situation and said the real test of rule of law is not during not the best of times but in the worst time.
“I think there is a very interesting term in our law, the rule of law. The rule of law has various meanings, it is necessary to understand them and we will have to train the police, that the rule of law has to be followed in letter and spirit. The rule of law is not only for the best of times, the real test of the rule of law is the worst of times. It’s just the beginning. Even now, if the Punjab Police and the government take care, then the situation can definitely get better,” he said.
He questioned Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s decision concerning the two-day investment summit when the state had faced the Ajnala incident.
“Ajnala incident was happening on one side and the Chief Minister was busy with the two-day investment conference,” he said.
Sandhu said that it is important to have a full-fledged Home Minister in Punjab as well as a full-fledged DGP in the state.
He said that it seems the government and other institutions are not playing their proper role.
“What is happening since the last eight-ten months, I have been thinking for a long time that how this government is running. There is no home minister, the CM is holding the Home portfolio. Does he have enough time to devote time to the Home department which is such an important department? So we need a Home Minister. Not only that we need a full-fledged DGP. Officiating DGP is there for the last four-five months. There are clear guidelines for this. We are not following those guidelines. For the last six-seven months, several times SSP has been changed. What kind of administration is this? So I think policing is very serious business and we need to take it seriously,” he said.
