Senior Punjab officer to probe assault on journalist

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday directed the additional chief secretary (home) to probe an alleged assault on a senior journalist in the central jail in Patiala.

Badal directed the senior officer, Jagpal Singh, to get to the bottom of Saturday's incident and submit a report at the earliest, a Chief Minister's Office spokesman said here.

Balwant Singh Rajoana - a Khalistani activist sentenced to death for the assassination of the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh - allegedly assaulted Kanwar Sandhu as he was upset over video reports released by Sandhu on fake encounters of the Punjab Police.

Sandhu said in a video blog later that he was asked by Rajoana's sister Kamaldeep Kaur to meet him (Rajoana) in the high-security prison, 80 km from here, for his version on fake-encounter claims of former police official Gurmeet Singh alias Pinky.

Sandhu - who has been editor of leading English dailies in Chandigarh - said he was not injured in the assault though his turban fell off during the incident.

The government on Saturday ordered a probe into the incident and suspended assistant jail superintendent Jagmail Singh on charge of allowing Sandhu to visit the prison to interview Rajoana without permission from seniors.

On her Facebook page on Saturday, Kamaldeep accused Sandhu of practising yellow journalism.