Police outfit seeks CBI probe into violent Jat agitation

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 30

The Haryana Police Sangathan (HPS) and the Constables and Head Constables Association have cautioned the state government against making lower police officials scapegoats for the arson, violence in the Jat agitation for reservation in February.

The issue was deliberated at length during a joint state-level meeting of the unions held here yesterday.

Talking to The Tribune today, sangathan head Dilawar Singh and association president Rajender Singh Tomar said the police personnel deployed to control the agitators had not got any specific directions from the authorities concerned.

“Moreover, the police personnel did not have sufficient quantity of tear gas shells, plastic bullets and other requisite ammunition to combat the mobs,” they maintained.

The cops’ leaders lamented that as the situation went out of the government’s control, the authorities were now targeting lower and middle-level police officials to show that some action was being taken.

Alleging that the state authorities and senior officials were actually responsible for the riot-like situation witnessed during the Jat agitation, Dilawar Singh and Tomar warned the Haryana government against making the police officials the scapegoats.

Tomar demanded that a CBI inquiry into the entire episode to get to the bottom of the matter. “For instance, the maximum loss of lives was reported from Jhajjar district but instead of taking action against the then SP of Jhajjar, departmental probes are being instituted against junior officials,” he pointed out.

Tomar disclosed that representatives of the association would soon meet the CM and the state DGP. They warned the authorities concerned against harassing the police personnel and threatened to launch a stir if their concerns were not addressed.