SAD threatens agitation over women safety in Punjab

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today threatened to launch an agitation if the Punjab government fails to take action on alleged atrocities on women in the state and registration of false cases against the party's councillors.
"Atrocities against women and registration of false cases against Akali councillors had crossed all limits and in case these issues were not redressed within one week, the party will start an agitation," former state minister and SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema and Dera Bassi legislator N K Sharma said.
The party claimed to have brought 16 cases of repression of women before concerned authorities and said the state government was "unmoved" by the plight of the aggrieved women.

"In case no action is taken in these cases involving excesses on women, common persons and Akali-BJP councillors within one week, we will organise a district level dharna in Mohali and also scale up the issue to the state level immediately afterwards," the two leaders said.
Cheema said it had been four days since the SAD had officially complained to Mohali Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra about the alleged molestation of two women from Dera Bassi here.
"No action has been taken in the matter despite the fact that the woman was abused, threatened, beaten and molested in Baltana police chowki by an ASI. Even the woman and her daughter-in-law's clothes were torn," he claimed.

"We demand immediate arrest and registration of a criminal case against the police chowki incharge as per the statement of the victim," he added.

The victim alleged that despite her statement being recorded by the police, no action has been taken against her tormentors.
Cheema said this was not the only case of atrocities on women in Dera Bassi and claimed that another woman was thrashed by a Congress man simply because she was taking his video while he was cutting the water connection to her house.
He said that instead of taking action against the Congressman, the police registered a case against an Akali councillor after his wife took the woman to a hospital.

He also alleged that the police registered "false" cases against two brothers of SAD MLA N K Sharma and five other party in connection with an agitation by women against opening of an illegal liquor shop in Zirakpur.