Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Abohar/Fazilka, A bandh was observed amidst protest demonstrations in Muktsar, Malout and Gidderbaha towns today on a call given by the Dalit community, demanding the arrest of Shiv Lal Doda, alias ‘Sholly’, accused in the case of murder of his former employee Bhim Tank. Doda, meanwhile, applied for anticipatory bail in Fazilka.
A ‘Punjab bandh’ call had been given by the Valmiki Samaj. A large number of people took out protest marches in Malout and Muktsar, while markets remained closed in Gidderbaha.
There was heavy deployment of police in the three towns.
Bhim, 27, was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons by Doda’s employees and others during a meeting at his farmhouse in Ramsara village on the Hanumangarh road near Abohar town in Fazilka district.
Around 15 persons, including Doda’s nephew Amit, have been arrested in this case.
Meanwhile, Doda, who has been evading arrest, applied for anticipatory bail in the Fazilka Sessions Court today. Counsel Rahil Birla filed the application before Additional Sessions Judge Dr Gopal Arora.
The judge issued summons for the police records related to the case for December 24, when the decision on bail would also be pronounced.
According to sources, Doda has pleaded that he and his nephew Amit were not present at the farmhouse at the time of the murder. They were meeting with a Congress MLA in Hotel Oberoi in Delhi at that time, they claimed.
At Doda’s farmhouse in Ramsara, limbs of Bhim Sen Tank and his companion Gurjant Singh, alias Janta, were chopped off, resulting in the death of Tank. Janta is undergoing treatment in an Amritsar hospital.
