NANGAL (ROPAR): The family of a school teacher, Balwant Singh, of Bhanupli village near here, is in jitters after being allegedly humiliated, robbed, beaten and threatened of further violence by a Youth Congress leader and his supporters on the night of September 26 last.

The miscreants allegedly stripped the wife of the teacher naked and amputated her ears, Balwant Singh and his brother-in-law were allegedly beaten till they fell unconscious by more than a dozen persons armed with sharp-edged weapons and bamboo sticks. Balwant Singh, his wife, Pushpa Devi, and brother-in-law Pawan Kumar, are admitted here to the BBMB civil hospital, where their conditions is stated to be improving now. While, Balwant Singh teaches in a school at Kiratpur Sahib his wife runs small shop in their village.

According to Balwant Singh and his wife, the miscreants looted Rs.35,000 in cash and other valuable items, including gold jewelry worth Rs.one lakh, The Nangal police has recorded statements of the victims and a case has been registered under Sections 107/51, 304, 511 and 382 of the IPC. Two persons, Sohan Singh and Shanga Ram, allegedly involved in the case, have been arrested on the basis of the identification by Balwant Singh and his wife.

Pushpa Devi has identified the Youth Congress leader, Ashwanj Kumar, as the main accused who, she alleged, was leading the hooligans. Ashwanj Kumar was recently appointed general secretary of the district Youth Congress by the party president, Maninderjit Singh Bitta. His name figures in the FIR.

Balwant Singh said that a sister of his wife and her husband were also at their house on the fateful night. He said that they were sleeping when they heard the noise outside the door. As soon as he (Balwant Singh) opened the door from the kitchen side, he was attacked with sticks and blunt weapons. He was beaten till he lost consciousness. They alleged that Pawan Kumar, their brother in-law was made the second target that also fell unconscious after severe beating.

Pushpa said in a choked voice that she was given severe beating by the YC leader and his accomplices before she was stripped naked. She said that she had pleaded before them not to molest her. She said that her car-rings were snatched and later her cars were amputated leaving her bleeding on the floor.

She said that her sister locked herself in the bathroom to save herself from the hooligans. She spent seven hours in the bathroom.

She said the miscreants remained in the house for more than an hour. She alleged that they broke open the locks of trunks and almirahs and took away the valuables they could lay their hands on. She said that all the members of her family had passed through a nightmarish experience.

The family sources of Balwant Singh have alleged that a former Congress MLA and the president of the district Youth Congress were shielding the culprits, They said that more than 10 days had passed since the incident took place but no arrest has been made.

This is not the first incident of this kind in which Youth Congress leaders of this district were involved. A few days ago, a senior functionary of the unit and his gunmen had mercilessly beaten two cyclists at Ropar, The incident had caused great resentment among the local citizens,

Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1992