Days after clashes between the Hindu and Dalit groups over a poster of BR Ambedkar in Punjab’s industrial town of Phagwara, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday demanded withdraw all cross cases registered against Dalits.

The SAD said the Congress government should withdraw all cross cases registered against Dalits who were attacked and fired upon by Punjab Shiv Sena goons when they had peacefully congregated to rename the Gol Chowk in Phagwara as Samvidhan Chowk within one week or face a state level agitation on this issue.

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The Scheduled Caste (SC) Wing of the SAD led by Gulzar Singh Ranike and including senior leaders Sohan Singh Thandal, Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, Mohinder Kaur Josh and Pawan Kumar Teenu also demanded immediate arrest of all perpetrators of the unprovoked attacked on Dalits on 13 April.

Ranike pointed out that a case had been registered against sixteen persons but only four of them had been arrested till now.

The SC Wing president also demanded that the Congress government also act against all Shiv Sena leaders who had instigated the attack against the Dalit community and withdraw all gunmen and escort vehicles given to them.

Giving details of the entire case, SAD leader Pawan Kumar Teenu said it was clear that the entire incident had been pre-planned because the electricity connection in the area was disconnected before indiscriminate firing against the Dalit community was initiated by Shiv Sena goons.

He said around forty shots were fired, but the police personnel deployed at the spot remained mute spectators and did not take any action to rein in the miscreants. He said what was even more shocking was that cross cases had been registered against Dalit activists and even their young children to intimidate them.

“This despite the fact that 47 out of 56 councilors of Phagwara municipal committee signed a public resolution in favour of renaming Gol Chowk as Samvidhan Chowk”.

Six people were injured in Phagwara after a clash between Dalits and Shiv Sena workers on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Trouble arose on the eve of Ambedkar Jayanti when one group tried to put up the poster at the crossing which was opposed by the other.