New Delhi, March 22 (H.S.): Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident involving Army Colonel Pushpendra Singh Bath and his son, who were beaten by Punjab police in Patiala. The party has called for the dismissal of Patiala’s SSP Nanak Singh and the filing of charges against him. They hold the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government accountable for the incident.

During a press conference at the Congress headquarters, AICC Secretary Alok Sharma and Colonel Rohit Chaudhary condemned the police and the Punjab government for this shameful event, particularly in a border state where military and police coordination should be paramount.

Notably, 35% of soldiers in Punjab come from farming families. The Congress party criticized the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, asserting that the current government promotes the adversarial stance of ‘Beat the soldier, Beat the farmer’. They reported that Colonel Bath and his son faced brutal attacks from police on the night of March 13-14, resulting in a broken hand for the Colonel, yet no FIR was filed for four days. After the Colonel sought treatment post-assault, he was only seen by medical staff hours later.

With pressure exerted on the victim’s family to withdraw their complaints, they only began receiving protection eight days after the assault. Congress expressed skepticism about an SIT being formed to investigate police officers, questioning why names of suspended officers were excluded from the FIR.

Demonstrations are occurring across Punjab in protest. Colonel Chaudhary has called for an inquiry by a retired judge and senior military officials, urged the Chief of Army Staff to engage with the President regarding security and health of soldiers’ families, and requested central establishment of a judicially empowered Ex-Servicemen Commission to safeguard military families nationwide.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar