Chandigarh, Mar 24 (PTI) Family members of an army colonel who accused 12 Punjab Police personnel of assaulting him and his son over a parking dispute lifted their sit-in protest in Patiala on Monday after officials informed them that the chief minister would hear their grievance in a meeting on March 31.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, meanwhile, said what happened was unfortunate and added that “appropriate action” would be taken.
He also appealed against turning the incident into “a battle of institutions or army versus police or anything”.
Joined by several ex-servicemen and veterans, family members of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath had been holding a sit-in protest outside the Patiala deputy commissioner’s office since March 22, demanding justice.
The protest was launched a day after the Punjab Police registered a fresh FIR based on the statement of Colonel Bath. A high-level special investigation team has been set up to expedite the investigation.
Colonel Bath’s family members have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter and the transfer of Senior Superintendent of Police (Patiala) Nanak Singh.
The alleged incident occurred on the intervening night of March 13 and 14 when Colonel Bath and his son were having food at a roadside eatery near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala.
His family members alleged that some police personnel in plainclothes asked the colonel to move his car so that they could park theirs. When the colonel objected to their tone, they thrashed him and his son.
The colonel suffered a broken arm while his son a cut on his head.
On Monday, the additional deputy commissioner of Patiala visited the protest site and handed over a letter to Colonel Bath’s wife Jasvinder Kaur regarding a meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at 12 pm on March 31.
Kaur later told reporters that she would meet the chief minister with her husband, their son and representatives of an ex-servicemen’s union.
“We have been given time by the chief minister for a meeting on March 31. We will keep our demands before him. Meanwhile, we are ending the ‘dharna’ here. However, if our demands are not met, we will take a decision on restarting the protest,” she said.
Punjab Police chief Yadav, meanwhile, told reporters in Chandigarh that the force had immense respect for the army and added that the law would take its own course.
He said the Punjab Police was coordinating with senior army authorities in the Western Command.
Yadav said, “Speaking on a personal note, I come from an army background. I am the son of an army officer, grew up in army cantonments and studied in central schools. I have immense respect for the army.” “At the same time, I am would also like to say I am immensely proud of the ‘khaki’ (police) uniform I am wearing. The Punjab Police is a brave force that, along with army and paramilitary forces, brought an end to militancy in the state,” he said.
Even now, the Punjab Police has close cooperation with the Indian Army, Border Security Force and other agencies, he added.
As an institution, there is perfect coordination between the army, police and the civil administration, Yadav said.
“I would request to all that it (incident involving Colonel Bath) was an aberration. Let us not make it out as a battle of institutions or army versus police or anything. We have immense respect for the army and the law will take its own course in the matter,” he said.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
