FIR against Bains on my direction: Punjab CM
Mohali (Pb): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said he had given the direction for registering an FIR against Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjit Singh Bains for allegedly berating Gurdaspur deputy commissioner.
Singh said he had issued the instruction after seeing a video of Bains reprimanding the official publicly on the issue of identity of a body.
"Nobody has the right to enter any government official's office and misbehave in this manner," the Punjab CM said, adding he had also directed all officers to respect citizens and elected representatives.
Bains was on Sunday booked by Punjab Police for allegedly reprimanding Gurdaspur deputy commissioner Vipul Ujwal publicly at the Batala civil hospital. The video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
In the 45-second clip, Bains can be seen shouting at Ujwal even as the officer tries to clear the confusion over the identity of a blast victim's body. The incident took place following the blast in a firecracker unit in Batala that killed 23 persons.
With the furious MLA refusing to calm down, a humiliated deputy commissioner is heard merely quipping, "I'm not going to talk to you" before leaving the place.
Police had booked the Ludhiana MLA and his unidentified twenty-odd associates for voluntarily obstructing and assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant from discharging duty, trespassing, criminal intimidation and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Batala Sub divisional Magistrate Balraj Singh who was also present at the time of incident.
Reacting to the registration of case against him and his companions, Bains had blamed the chief minister for the legal action against him.
Meanwhile, on the performance of the Narendra Modi government on its completion of 100 days, Singh said it was too soon to evaluate and one would have to wait to make any assessment.
However, he asserted that India needed stability, and as a secular nation, the government would have to take all religions along to build a secular society and ensure the country's progress.
Singh also rejected allegations of non-fulfilment of his government's promise to distribute cycles among girl students levelled by the SAD and the AAP, saying a budget had been duly allocated for the purpose.
Cycles were distributed last year and again this year, but the only difference from the previous years was that unlike former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, he had not got his picture embossed on the bikes, Singh said.
