Kin continue protest seeking case against policeman

days after a drug case accused in the district committed suicide, blaming two persons — a policeman and a witness in the case — of harassing him, his family and activists of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) are continuing their protest demanding police action against the duo.

On Thursday, farmers under the banner of BKU (Ekta-Sidhupur) staged a protest by blocking Maur-Rampura Phul road while activists of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) held a demonstration outside Balianwali police station.

The family refused to take possession of the body of victim Bhupinder Singh and said they will not allow postmortem till a case is registered against assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Jagroop Singh and police witness Satish Kumar for abetment of suicide.

Bhupinder, 23, had consumed a poisonous substance on Monday night and his body was found outside his house in Mandi Kalan village on Tuesday.

In a note recovered after his suicide, Bhupinder had accused ASI Jagroop and witness Satish, a resident of Maur, of harassing him and demanding money for deposing in his favour in the court. Bhupinder and Jagpal Singh, also a resident of Mandi Kalan, were booked in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after 50 vials of a banned cough syrup were recovered from a bag they were carrying in March last year. In the police investigations, Bhupinder was later found not guilty, so no chargesheet was filed against him. However, a Bathinda court had summoned him in the case.