Police fail to stop protests on main roads

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, February 17

Even after the district administration fixed a place for holding protests, dharnas and demonstrations way back in 2015 on the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the police have failed to carry out their duty in putting a check to such protests being staged at traffic-wise strategic places such as Jagraon Bridge, Bharat Nagar Chowk and Ferozepur Road (opposite Mini-Secretariat - all located on National Highway 44 and 95) in the city.

In a complaint lodged with the Commissioner of Police on February 15, 2019, Rohit Sabharwal, president of Council of RTI Activists, has maintained that by its failure to check protests and dharnas on the main roads in the city, the police had failed to protect the fundamental right of the citizens to free movement while also becoming a party to the illegal act of blocking a road and causing obstruction in the smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

In support of his contention, Sabharwal has cited information obtained from the security branch of city police under the Right to Information Act (vide letter no. 12582 dated March 24, 2017) which says 13 protests and dharnas were held at Bharat Nagar Chowk and seven at Jagraon Bridge during the period from January 2015 to March 2017.

It is also stated by the police that no mandatory permission was obtained by any of the bodies of protesters for holding rallies/dharnas and further that no legal action was taken in any of these cases (for the illegal act of blocking public roads/national highways) because all these protests and rallies were ‘peaceful’.

The info provided by the police did make a mention of the fact that the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana had designated GLADA Ground, opposite Vardhamn Mill, Sector 39, on Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road, for holding rallies and protests.

Sabharwal, however, pointed out that going by the track record so far, the orders issued by the district authorities to hold protests, rallies and dharnas at the designated place had remained only on paper and no efforts were made by the police towards implementation of these orders.

The complainant contended that by its failure to curb the menace of holding protests and rallies on the main roads, or rather national highways, the police had been negligent in protecting the fundamental right of the people and the plea that no action was taken against such illegal acts because the protests/rallied were peaceful, also did not hold water.

Sabharwal sought scrupulous compliance of the HC directions and the orders issued by the district authorities.