Protests in Sangrur district after Dalit, who was forced to drink urine, dies; AAP demands CBI probe

Activists of some Dalit outfits, social organisations and the BSP sat on a protest in Sangrur district of Punjab on Sunday, a day after a 37-year-old Dalit man died after being mercilessly thrashed and forced to drink urine earlier this month.

The protesters, who blocked the Lehra-Sunam road, demanded that the next of kin of the deceased be given a government job and his family be provided a compensation of Rs 50 lakh.

"The family should be given justice. The perpetrators of the crime should be hanged. The Punjab government should give a job to the victim's wife and Rs 50 lakh compensation should be given to the family," a protester said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who is currently abroad, called the incident a grave crime that would not go unpunished.

He directed the state chief secretary and the DGP to ensure speedy, time-bound investigations and trial against the accused.

Amarinder spoke to Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh and DGP Dinkar Gupta over phone in connection with the case.

He directed both officials to leave no stone unturned to ensure stringent and exemplary punishment for the accused within the next three months, an official spokesperson said.

Urging the family members of the deceased to call off their protest, the chief minister announced that the state government would ensure that they get justice and proper rehabilitation.

He also called upon all political leaders not to politicise the issue. "It is a humanitarian issue and a grave crime that would not go unpunished," he said.

His government, said the chief minister, was committed to the protection of the Dalits and would not tolerate any atrocities against them.

The government spokesperson said Amarinder Singh had taken serious note of the incident amid reports that the victim, a construction worker, was tortured and dumped on the street. His legs had to be amputated at PGIMER Chandigarh after he was referred there following initial treatment at three other hospitals.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party's Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann demanded a CBI probe into the incident. He said it was a shameful act and those responsible should be given strict punishment.

The MP said he would be meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi in this connection and also raise the barbaric incident in Parliament.

Mann also alleged that the FIR in the case was registered by the Lehra police here six days after the incident on November 7 and demanded that it be probed if there was any "political pressure" behind it.

He said it should be looked into if Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who belongs to the area from where the accused and the victim come, had any role behind the delay in the registration of the case.

Talking to reporters here, Bhattal said, "Those who are levelling baseless allegations are not doing any good to the cause of victim's family who are seeking justice."