AMRITSAR; Simranjit Singh Mann president, Akali Dal (Mann), here recently charged the Punjab govt, with thwarting peaceful rallies being held by Akalis to protest against inhuman repression let loose by the police and security forces.

Calling it an “undemocratic” act which, he said, was against the basic spirit of the Constitution, Manan said he was here to mobilize the Akali workers for a conference against state repression on August Sat Tarn Taran, but was taken into custody by the Punjab police near Sheik Chak village, about 35 km from here and was kept at the Khem Karan police station for a night before being let off at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

This act, Mann, said reflected the “frustration” of the Beant Singh government because it feared that the conference against repression would be much bigger than any of the mass contact rallies organized by the Congress (I).

Mann said that the room where he was detained was an unhygienic one, without any drinking water facility and he was not supplied any food.

Mann said police commandos roughed him up and asked him to accompany them to some other place which Mann declined because he did not feel secure to change his place of detention,

Mann condemned the government for not allowing the Akali leaders to meet the masses to present their point of view. The  akali  Dal chief ridiculed the Punjab’s Chief is in Beant Singh for raising the non issue like Maha Punjab.

Mann said that Beant Singh was telling lies in reference to security provided to him because he has his own security guards.

He never accepted the state government’s security cover-up he asserted,

The government’s attitude was discriminatory as far as inquiries into killings of innocent persons were concerned alleged Mann and added that it was under Satpal Dang’s pressure that the government appointed an inquiry officer to look into the death of Anul Kumar of Chhehart in police custody, but if a Sikh was killed under similar circumstances, no inquiry was ordered.

Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 14, 1992