Farmers Movement Archive

Bittu attacked, manhandled at Singhu protest site

Ludhiana: In a shocking incidents, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and two other Congress legislators were on Sunday manhandled at Singhu border, where they had gone to attend a ‘Jan Sansad’ at the farmers’ protest venue. Although MLA Kulbir Singh Zira and MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla were accompanying him, only Bittu was attacked with sticks, while Zira was manhandled. Their turbans were also thrown on the ground during the scuffle. Surprisingly, they had gone there without any police security, though Bittu is a ‘Z’ category protectee. After the attack, as they were being rushed to their vehicles by some persons, another attack took place, this time on their vehicles and the windscreens were damaged. Soon after the incident, several videos of the attack went viral on the social media, in which an unruly crowd is seen manhandling and abusing the Congress leaders. Terming the incident a well-planned conspiracy to kill them, Bittu claimed that the farmers had nothing to do with this attack and that there were some anti-social elements behind it. Speaking to TOI, Bittu said, “By the grace of god, me and my friends are safe, though the attackers tried their best to inflict deadly injuries on me. They were carrying ‘barsha’ (a sharp-edged weapon), ‘kirpan’ (a short sword) and other weapons. I was hit on head also, but luckily I escaped without any injuries, as MLA Kulbir Zira came to my rescue.” The Ludhiana MP further said the attackers were hiding somewhere and waiting for them to arrive there. Minutes after they reached there, the crowd attacked them. “There is no doubt that this was a pre-planned attack, as politicians from other parties including Pappu Yadav, Sukhpal Khaira and others were also present at the Jan Sansad and addressed the people too, but not even a finger was raised at them. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) or other elements may be behind this, as SFJ has already announced huge cash rewards for indulging in such misadventures,” Bittu said. He, however, refused to lodge any police complaint over the incident. Zira also claimed that Khalisatni elements were behind this attack. Speaking to TOI, he said, “There was not even a single person with flags of farmer unions, though some carried Khalistani flags. I feel very hurt, as for generations, my family has been of devout Sikhs, yet ‘kafirs’ attacked me and tossed my turban in full public view when I came to the defence of MP Bittu.”

The Times of India

2021-01-25

Ludhiana