5 more court arrest in BJP MLA Arun Narang assault case

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, April 5

Five more farmers today courted arrest in connection with the Abohar BJP MLA Arun Narang assault case. Narang was allegedly thrashed, inked and stripped near the BJP office in Malout town on March 27.

Those who courted arrest included Lakhanpal Sharma ‘Lakha’ from Alamwala village, who had gone to the farmers’ protest in Delhi after the Malout incident. A senior BJP leader in Chandigarh had recently claimed Lakha was an AAP leader.

Lakha today said: “I was linked to AAP before I joined the BKU (Sidhupur) seven months ago. During this period, I have never gone to any programme of the AAP.”

On April 1, 21 farmers had courted arrest in Malout town after the police arrested four farmers.

Don’t harass innocent

All farmers wanted in the case have courted arrest. If police harass any innocent farmer, they will have to face our protest. —Jagjit Singh Dallewal, BKU (sidhupur) state chief

Earlier in the day, a large number of farmers gathered at Bathinda chowk in Malout. Jagjit Singh Dallewal, state president, BKU (Sidhupur) said: “All farmers wanted in the case have courted arrest. If the police harass any innocent farmer, they will have to face our protest.”

The Malout City police have registered a case against three farmers by name and nearly 300 unidentified persons on various charges, including attempt to murder.

The police said as of now, 30 farmers had been arrested, three of whom had got bail.

Muktsar SSP D Sudarvizhi said Lakhanpal Sharma, block president of BKU (Sidhupur), was the main leader and organiser of the protest in Malout on March 27. “Apart from arresting Sharma, union district president Sukhdev Singh, secretary Nirmal Singh and treasurer Nanak Singh, have already been arrested,” she said.

Baljit Singh, accused of splashing black ink on the MLA, Kuldeep Singh and Mandeep Singh, who tore off the MLA’s clothes, and Kulwinder Singh, Sandeep, Jasmail Singh, who thrashed the MLA in the video, too had been arrested, she added.