- Demanding justice and employment, EGS teachers get lathis (canes)
- Eight injured, five detained
- Police to register case against five for interrupting
Sukhna Ablu (Mukatsar), December 7, 2011 : Days after an EGS teacher Barinder Pal kaur was slapped at, Chief Minster Punjab Parkash Singh Badal’s car crushed two women EGS teachers and women teachers were again slapped and manhandled by police as well as Akalis in Sukhna Abloo village (Barinder Pal Kaur is resident of this village) in Mukatsar district on Wednesday. Teachers were there to meet the CM demanding justice in slapping incident and permanent jobs for the teachers. As many as eight teachers had been injured and more than a dozen detained by the police.
A sangat Darshan Program was held in slapping victim Barinder Pal Kaur’s village Sukhna Abloo in Mukatsar district by CM Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday to disburse grant for the development works of the village. EGS teachers went to the Sangat Darshan as Sangat for the fulfillment of their demands. Five teachers and victim Barinder Pal kaur along with her father were allowed to meet CM in Sangat Darshan and other were stopped at the gate of the school, where the Sangat Darshan Program was being held.
Barinder Pal kaur and other teachers demanded justice for slapping incident and employment for the teachers but CM neither promised permanent jobs nor justice to them.
The EGS teacher standing outside of the school planned for gherao of the CM. As soon as CM’s car reached at the gate, EGS teachers gheraoed the vehicle raising slogans and some EGS women teachers laid down in front of CM’s vehicle. The CM was stopped there for about 15 minutes.
Police headed by DSP Bhupinder Singh and SHO Kot Bhai Parminder Singh attacked the protesters and started cane charging on them. Some Akalis joined the police and Protesters were manhandled. Women teachers were caught from ‘Gutts’ and slapped at. CM kept watching this during citing in her car and waiting for the ‘clearance’ of the way.
Meanwhile, two women teachers Sarbjeet Kaur Faridkot and Kirandeep Kaur Faridkot were hit by the car, in which CM was sitting. They were rushed to nearby hospitals. Police had to struggle much to disperse the protesters.
Meanwhile, the turban of the DSP removed in the clash and he got furious. He raged at media persons, lensemen and cameramen but seeing the journalist in majority, police moved to villagers and cane charged at the villagers. Some villagers got injured and a octogenarian was allegedly slapped at. Some youth of the village called bycott for SAD in assembly elections.
As many as six more teachers were injured and five were detained by the police and were kept at an unknown place. Police snatched mobile phones from the protesters during clash.
As soon as the protesters at Dharna in Gidderbaha came to know about the incident, they blocked Malout-Chandigarh Nationla Highway-15. Seeing that commuters were suffering due to road jam, union lift the Dharna and a rally was organized in the Bazaars of Gidderbaha.
DSP Bhpinder Singh maintained that they cane charged to maintain law and order. SSP Mukatsar said that five EGS teachers including a woman had been detained. He added that a case would be registered against them for interrupting government functioning and attacking lady police.
President EGS teacher Union Punjab Pritpal Singh said that they will interrupt all Sangat Darshan Programs of the CM across state. He added that a 11 member Jatha would comitt suicide on December 8.
He further added that he got a call from CM office for table talk but they have no time for talk as merely 8-10 days have been remained in the forcing of code of conduct. He said that if government issues notification and starts the process for the recruitment of the teachers and add section 351 of IPC in the case of slapping incident, they will postpone their mass suicide program. He also demanded the dismissal of SHO Gidderbaha Avtar Singh, who had been allegedly threatening them.
