Kulwinder (right) whom Punjab Police team had gone to arrest on charges of drug smuggling, and Basant Kaur (centre) whose husband Jagga Singh was killed allegedly in firing by policemen at Desu Jodha village in Sirsa. Gurmeet Singh Kulwinder (right) whom Punjab Police team had gone to arrest on charges of drug smuggling, and Basant Kaur (centre) whose husband Jagga Singh was killed allegedly in firing by policemen at Desu Jodha village in Sirsa. Gurmeet Singh

A SMALL shop along a muddy lane in Desu Jodha is abuzz with men dressed in crisp white kurta pajamas. Dr Sita Ram, the INLD candidate from Haryana’s Dabwali Assembly constituency, is about to arrive. At the party office, set up in ward no. 1 of this village, workers are seated, sipping on cold drinks, while villagers are crowding outside.

Among them is Bhinder, a youth in his early twenties. He, along with 3 named and 50 unidentified people, had been booked on charges of attempt to murder after allegedly beating up seven Punjab Police officers on October 9. The officers were thrashed by nearly 100 villagers when they reached Desu Jodha to nab notorious drug peddler Kulwinder Singh Kinda. One cop, Kamaljeet, had received a bullet injury in his chest. A villager – Kulwinder’s paternal uncle Jagga Singh (50) – was killed in police firing.

As party workers get busy making vote appeals, over 30 persons gather in the house of Kulwinder Singh. The crowd, most of who had been booked under attempt to murder charges, are discussing whether they should vote or not since no policeman has been booked yet for the murder of Jagga Singh. Bathinda SSP Dr Nanak Singh had claimed that the firing that left Jagga Singh dead was done in self-defence.

Kulwinder’s under-construction house is two minutes away from INLD’s new party office. Seated on a cot, Kulwinder said, “My uncle was killed. Yet, an FIR has been lodged against us and not the cops. I was sleeping in my house when Punjab Police came. They beat me up, my parents and when we objected to it, the police officer Kamaljeet started firing in the air. My uncle Jagga Singh was killed as he was hit in the chest and stomach. Only after that we started beating them up. Constable Kamaljeet’s own bullet hit him and he is blaming us.”

Basant Kaur, Jagga Singh’s wife, said, “He was a daily wager. He had just gone to see what was going on and he became the victim. An FIR has been lodged against us but we have got no justice for the killing of my husband.”

Kulwinder then announced, “If no FIR is lodged against the police for killing my uncle by this weekend, we will not vote this time.”

Tej Singh, Kulwinder’s father, said, “Even if they had taken my son for investigation, I would not have said anything. But they beat me and my wife. They killed my brother and even demanded Rs 2 lakh as bribe. My grandson’s birthday was to be celebrated on Sunday and it has been spoiled. Now all parties come to seek votes, but no one comes forward to help us out. We have not yet decided which party we should vote for.” Ward no. 1 has 1,250 voters.

Asked if they indulge in drug smuggling, Kulwinder said, “There are many landlords in this village who earn lakhs each month selling drugs like smack, opium, poppy husk, but police don’t say anything to them. If someone earns a little bit, they torture them. A woman living behind our house has a business of chitta (heroin). She gave my name to spoil my son’s function, otherwise there was nothing in my house. I don’t even know any Gagandeep, who had come with police saying that he purchased tablets from me.”

Gagandeep Singh, another drug peddler, had been taken along by police to Desu Jodha on October 9 to point out Kinda’s exact location. According to the police, Gagandeep had purchased 6,000 tablets from Kulwinder. However, Gagandeep had managed to escape during the clash.

A passerby said the real business of drugs is happening in another part of the village. “If you want some, I can bring it from the landlord of this village just now. They are the big fish, whom police never arrest,” he added.

Moments later, vehicles of BJP and Congress leaders drive into the mohalla for vote appeals. BJP’s Aditya Devi Lal, grandson of Devi Lal, and Congress’s Amit Sihag are contesting from Dabwali. The village has 4,700 voters.

Sarpanch Gurdeep Singh said, “We don’t support the people of ward no. 1. Earlier we had made drug control committees, but when we went to that mohalla, we were attacked with stones. Now we have gone silent.”

Jaskaran Singh, another villager whose wife Beena Rani is a member of the panchayat, said, “We have families, we don’t want to take the risk. It is the job of police. When they can’t control (the drug racket), how can we? I think because of elections, the matter is lying in cold storage as politicians are focused on their votes.”

When asked about what action is being taken regarding the October 9 clash, Dabwali SHO Jitender said, “An SIT has been formed which is probing the case. Hence no arrest has been made so far. Moreover, the police officer who was shot at is still in serious condition. Further investigation will be done once he is able to give a statement. A magisterial probe is being conducted into the death of Jagga Singh.”

Speaking about the drug menace, he said, “We do take action whenever we get information. As this village is close to the Punjab border, flow of drugs from this side to Punjab is more.”

Bathinda SSP Dr Nanak Singh said, “The case is being investigated by Sirsa police. They need to find out the truth behind this incident. If we will have any more information we will share with them.”

After the clash, Haryana Police had said that the operation — conducted by Punjab Police without informing local police — as a “procedural lapse”. In videos of the incident that have gone viral, villagers can be seen beating up police personnel with sticks, bricks, chappals and even dragging them on the floor. Most members of the team were in civil dress.

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