A middle-aged man was detained for questioning by the police here today after he ran towards a Punjab minister during a meeting, allegedly with an intention to hurt him.
Punjab Cabinet minister Sikandar Singh Maluka was holding a meeting with villagers at Hamirgarh village when the man, Gurjant Singh, ran towards him, police said.
He was overpowered by the minister's gunmen.
Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Swapan Sharma said that Singh was taken into custody.
The minister was scheduled to address a gathering of villagers in connection with SAD's 'Sadbhavna' rally on November 23.
"A man, who was sitting among other villagers, ran towards me. But before he could do anything to me, he was overpowered by my gunmen," Maluka who is a Rural Development and Panchayat minister said.
However, police said the accused "tried" to push the minister.
The Minister said that the accused was empty handed.
"I was told by villagers that he could be a Congress worker," the Minister alleged, adding that everything would be clear only after police investigation.
However, the minister said he addressed the meeting even after this incident.
Notably, Maluka and another minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon had faced farmers' ire this month in Bathinda.
On November 14, farmers led by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) had forced Sekhon to skip a foundation stone laying ceremony of a road in Khokhar village in Bathinda.
On November 17, farmers had tried to prevent Maluka at Kotha Gura in Bathinda who had gone there for mobilising people for upcoming Sadbhavna rally.
