“No one came to help us as he [Shiromani Akali Dal leader Ranjit Singh Rana] attacked us. After he shot at my father with his rifle, my father collapsed. Rana then hit me and I fell on my father. He kept kicking and hitting us in full public glare. I cried and pleaded for help but everyone ran away. Even when the ambulance came, I had to lift my father into it as no one came to help me,” says Robanjit Kaur, 23-year-old daughter of ASI Ravinderpal Singh, who died on Thursday after Rana and his associates opened fire at him.
The incident took place in broad daylight after the police official confronted Rana and his associates for harassing Ms. Kaur on a busy street of Chheharta, a town on the outskirts of Amritsar.According to Ms. Kaur, who was returning home after her IELTS coaching class, her father arrived at the spot after she told him over the phone that she was being harassed by Rana and his friends.
When Ravinderpal Singh arrived and confronted the group, a heated argument followed and Rana pulled out his pistol and began firing at both father and daughter. Both received bullet injuries and Ravinderpal Singh collapsed.
After firing a number of shots, Rana and his associates left the scene. Even as Ms. Kaur struggled to shift her father into a car to take him to hospital, Rana and his gang returned with a rifle and shot Ravinderpal Singh again in full public view.
The officer died before he could receive any medical help.
Reports from Amritsar said the girl, receiving no help from bystanders, struggled for 15-20 minutes before Rana and his men returned.
“Complaint ignored”
An inconsolable Ms. Kaur blamed the police for not acting on a complaint she lodged against Rana and his associates on December 1 at the Chheharta police station. She demanded that Rana be brought before her so that she could shoot him.Meanwhile, the police claimed to have arrested Gurbir Singh Bira, who was with Rana during the incident.
In all, four persons have been taken into custody while one Sandeep Singh is still at large.
Rana and two of his associates, who were arrested earlier, have been admitted to the civil hospital in Tarn Taran with injuries.
Punjab Mahila Congress president Malti Thapar will lead a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and submit a memorandum to him at the Halwara Air Force base on Saturday. “If a policeman is not safe, one can well imagine the fate of the [general] public,” said BJP legislator from Amritsar Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of cricket commentator and TV-personality-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu. The incident showed the complete breakdown of law and order in the “holy city”, of which constituency her husband is an MP.
Goons running amok
Former Minister and senior BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla has said the incident was a “slap in the face of the State government,” as goons enjoyed political patronage to terrorise people. She cited numerous such incidents from different parts of the State over the last few months.
Ms. Chawla said it was a wake-up call for the Chief Minister and the security setup to rein in all such elements irrespective of their political affiliations.
