Sena leader held for orchestrating attack on himself
LUDHIANA : Chairman of the labour wing of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) Narinder Bhardwaj was on Thursday arrested for concocting a story of the March 6 assault on him.
According to police, the 45-year-old did so in order to avail security cover.
Earlier in 2016, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) president Amit Arora too was arrested for misleading the police by claiming that he was shot in the neck.
Arora had claimed that he was shot at by two motorcycleborne youths at the Basti Jodhewal Chowk when he was sitting in a car. Forensic and medical reports, however, blew the lid off Arora’s lie. Then Ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh had said that Arora orchestrated the attack to get an escort vehicle and more gunmen, besides grabbing the sympathy of Hindus.
Police said that it come to the fore during a probe that the windshield of Bhardwaj’s car was damaged in an accident last Friday, but he tried to cash in on opportunity by projecting it as an attack. He called the police control room (PCR) claiming that he was assaulted by two motorcycle-borne miscreants.
After the arrest, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) chief Pawan Sharma dismissed Bhardwaj from the party with immediate effect. Spokesperson of the party Chanderkant Chadda has confirmed the development.
Police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal said Bhardwaj had called PCR on March 6, claiming that two bike-borne men, one of whom was donning a turban, attempted to kill him with an iron rod around 8pm when he was on his way back home.
“He told the police that the assailants blocked his way and pierced an iron rod in his Hyundai Santro car’s windshield. He claimed that he couldn’t identify them as their faces were covered,” the police chief said.
Bhardwaj, the commissioner said, had also claimed that before the attack, he received a call from an international number.
A first information report (FIR) under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was then registered against the unidentified attackers at the Jamalpur police station.
CHANGE IN STATEMENTS RAISED SUSPICION
The police chief said that frequent change in Bhardwaj’s statements drew suspicion.
“Investigating officials found out that Bhardwaj was at his home at 8pm on March 6. The surveillance cameras installed at his residence proved his presence there in that particular time frame. He eventually confessed that he had cooked up the attack story,” he added.
The commissioner said that earlier, a gunman was assigned to Bhardwaj amid the cases of targeted killings in Punjab, but his security cover was withdrawn three months ago.
“To get it back, he hatched this plan. He assumed that following the assaults on Shiv Sena leaders in Punjab, police would grant him security cover without any enquiry,” he said, adding that Bhardwaj had already requested police for protection.
He has been booked under sections 195 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of offence) and 196 (using evidence known to be false) of the IPC.
Bhardwaj worked as a supervisor in a factory besides being a labour contractor. His association with the Shiv Sena goes back to early 90s.