Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Bathinda, Sikh activist and lawyer HS Phoolka today held a cycle rally from Bargari village in Faridkot to Bathinda. He demanded justice for two Sikh victims of Bargari who were killed in police firing during a protest last month.
Phoolka said: “We organised the rally to seek justice for the victims’ kin and demand Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur’s resignation.”
Phoolka, however, faced opposition from a number of riot victims from Delhi and members of the Sikh Welfare Society, Ludhiana, who alleged the lawyer had not done anything for them.
Phoolka blames Akalis
Phoolka said: “The protest was held at the behest of SAD leaders. If any victim is not happy with my efforts, he can hire another advocate. I am fighting these cases with honesty and free of cost and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong over this.”
He said he too was a victim of the riots.
“On November 2, 1984, the mob attacked our house in South Extension area, where we lived on rent. But the landlord, a Punjabi Hindu, had already locked us in a store room,” he said.
“Soon, an Army truck reached and with the help of the landlord, we escaped. I cannot forget the moment when I ran for my life barefoot without a turban on my head. My wife and I reached Punjab on November 5,” he said.
“When I returned to Delhi later that month, I, along with many others, decided to fight for the victims for free,” he said.
