Cops act after chairs for Shiromani Akali Dal candidate's event block road in Faridkot town

BATHINDA: Acting on instructions of Faridkot deputy commissioner, police registered a case for blocking of a road during the opening of election office of Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Parambans Singh Romana on Monday. Akali workers had blocked the road in Faridkot town by putting up nearly 3,000 chairs on the road.
Police have taken the chairs into their possession and registered a case under the charges of obstructing a road against “unknown persons“.On Sunday, police in Rampura Phul town of Bathinda had seized governmentsponsored sports kits from a truck. Some liquor bottles were also recovered from the vehicle and a case under the Excise Act was registered against local Akali Dal coordinator Subash Ku mar.
SAD candidate Romana's office was being inaugurated near the Faridkot bus stand and the buses had to take an alternate route due to blocking of the highway, causing inconvenience to commuters. Even the official vehicle of Faridkot DC M S Jaggi was stuck in the blockade.
Jaggi, who is also the district electoral officer (DEO), told TOI, “I was going to my office on Monday morning and was stranded on the road due to the blockade. I stood at the site and called up the police to remove the blockade, which was causing lot of harassment to people and was in violation of the model code of conduct imposed after the announcement of election schedule.“
He said that Akali leaders had not obtained any permission for putting up chairs on the road. “I also recommended legal action against some policemen present near the site for not acting against the members of the political party for unauthorized blockade.I have written to the Election Commission and Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) about the violation of the code.“
When contacted, Faridkot SSP Nanak Singh said, “Immediately after getting a complaint from the DEO, the police removed the blockade and seized the chairs from the road. A case for obstructing the road has been registered against unknown persons.“
He said a police party was sent to make security arrangements and regulate the traffic. “The role of policemen present will also be investigated,“ said the SSP.
Romana said it was “unintentional“. “Nobody wanted to block the road but some persons put up chairs on their own,“ he said.