Protesters block highway alleging police inaction

BANUR - Agitated over alleged police inaction in the murder of a 60-year-old man, scores of residents of this Punjab town Saturday blocked the busy Patiala-Chandigarh national highway for a good two hours.

According to the police, a 60-year-old retired government employee was injured in a group clash here in the wee hours Saturday. The man later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

Following this, the family members of the deceased and neighbours reached the national highway connecting Patiala with state capital Chandigarh and blocked traffic. To avoid chaos and traffic jams, police had to divert traffic to other routes.

“We informed the police about the threat from some anti-social elements Friday evening. But they did not take it seriously and suggested that we return home,” said Mahinder Singh, a relative of the deceased.

However, police claimed no negligence on their part.

“We had sent the duty officer at the house of the complainant at around 12.30 a.m. but everything was normal there. Then, in the morning we got to know that he was badly beaten by some miscreants and was admitted in a hospital,” Chand Singh, a police officer, told IANS.

“There was no laxity on our part. We immediately registered a case and started our investigation. This death is due to past animosity between two groups,” he added.

Banur town, which is in Punjab’s Patiala district, is around 25 km from Chandigarh.