Meter shifting turns violent; 3 hurt

Bathinda : The situation at Neor village of Rampura Phul subdivision of Bathinda became tense on Tuesday evening when the villagers and workers of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ugrahan, who were opposing the shifting of electricity meters from inside the houses to outside in the village, were allegedly lathicharged. Around 30 people were reportedly injured in the incident, including two workers of the electricity department and two police personnel, including SHO Gurpreet Singh, who have been admitted to the Bathinda and Rampura Phul civil hospitals. Following opposition by the local villagers and the BKU leaders against the move of the electricity board to shift the meters, a heavy police force was deployed in the village since morning. “But the situation became volatile when a few officials of the electricity department forcibly tried to shift the meter at a house. The villagers opposed this and the police lathicharged them, leaving a number of BKU workers and villagers injured. Police also fired a few shots in the air,“ alleged BKU Ugrahan district president Shingara Singh Mann. However, the police and the administration denied that the police undertook the lathicharge or fired in the air. Rampura Phul SDM Uma Shankar, who was present at the spot, said it was the BKU workers who attacked the electricity employees and the police while they were peacefully replacing the meters. “To remove the BKU leaders from the spot, minimal police force was used,“ he said. The SDM alleged that it was the BKU leaders who made the situation volatile. SP Headquarters Amarjeet Singh Sandhu said a few government vehicles, including the vehicle of the SDM and the DSP, have been damaged in stone-pelting by the villagers and BKU leaders. Eyewitnesses said even women were not spared by the male police personnel. Kamalpreet Kaur, a villager, said, “We were beaten up by the police mercilessly in our houses despite the fact that no member of our family was present. The police have also arrested my sister-in-law from our house,“ she alleged. Meanwhile, the police have rounded up 20 BKU workers and villagers. The village was tense till the filing of this report.

Heavy police force has been deployed in the village.