A lady teacher was allegedly slapped and roughed up by a sarpanch belonging to the ruling Akali Dal during a function.
A leader of Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has repeatedly slapped a lady teacher, who was demanding a permanent job, at a function in Muktsar district, sparking an outrage after which the state government ordered filing of an FIR against him.
The lady Varinder Kaur was part of a delegation of teachers who wanted to meet Bhatinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the wife of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at the function yesterday.
A scuffle broke out between the teachers' delegation, which wanted to submit a memorandum to Harsimrat Kaur demanding regularization of their job, and Akali Dal workers who wanted the delegation to leave the place. Balwinder Singh, Akali Dal sarpanch of Daula village, caught hold of Varinder Kaur and slapped her many times, Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Teachers Association President Pritpal Singh said.
"Balwinder Singh manhandled me and beat me up," Kaur said and added EGS Jalandhar unit chief Jarnail Singh was also slapped and picked up by police.
The police also locked up the teachers in a house to ensure a smooth conduct of the function", the sources said, adding the teachers have lodged a complaint against Balwinder demanding his arrest.
Police said a case has been registered against members of both the parties.
The incident drew condemnation from across the political spetrum in and the state government today ordered lodging of an FIR against the sarpanch.
An official spokesperson said IG Zonal has been asked to inquire into the incident and submit a report at the earliest. Chief Parkash Singh Badal said "I condemn this act. We will take action against the sarpanch as per law".
Opposition Congress demanded registration of a criminal case against Balwinder Singh and said "it was a perfect example of Jungle 'Raj'.
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