Ink attack on Saini: Police drop murder bid charge against accused

CHANDIGARH: Following pressure from Jat panchayats and other organizations, Haryana Police on Friday decided to withdraw the attempt to murder charge levelled against five youths accused of throwing ink on

Kurukshetra

MP Raj Kumar Saini on October 16.

The decision was taken in a review of the charges pressed against the youths, said Kurukshetra SP Simardeep Singh. The youths will continue to be in jail for now, as the police have not removed other non-bailable charges from the FIR, including sedition and assault on government servant. "We have studied the chemical report of the ink and it suggested that the ink was not hazardous to the MP's health. So, we have removed the attempt to murder charge," the SP said.

The decision came amid calls from Jat bodies, leaders, panchayats, MLAs, and even ministers in the state to withdraw the charges against the five youths, saying that they were too harsh.

Earlier in the day, Haryana DGP K P Singh had said that Karnal range inspector general of police (IGP) Subash Yadav was already camping in Kurukshetra to know the details of the case. "He has had various rounds of meetings with investigating officers to review the content of the complaint and the investigations carried out so far," the DGP had said.

The decision to review the charges had come on a day leaders of Jat mahapanchayats headed by Kandela khap chief Tek Ram Kandela met the DGP in Panchkula to seek a review of the charges against the youths.

On Sunday, police had booked five men for attempt to murder -- Sandeep Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Harikesh, Saurav Dhanda and Jitender. It had led to an angry reaction from both the Congress and INLD with leaders accusing the BJP government of using strong-arm tactics.The source added that the directions to review the case had also come from the chief minister's office (CMO), following a protest lodged by Jat MLAs and ministers before chief minister Manohar Lal.

On Thursday, finance minister Captain Abhimanyu had termed the addition of attempt to murder charge as unusual. "Instead of barring the Kurukshetra MP from provoking people or punishing him with sedition charges, the government harassed our children. Why doesn't the government register cases against those who had thrashed the five youths and that too in the presence of policemen on duty. This clearly shows government's biases against a particular community," said Kandela.

Referring to action against those who thrashed five youths, the Haryana DGP said, "These are issues of investigation. We need to understand the intention behind the incident."

Saini is said to have been at the receiving end of the attack for his strong stance against the Jat quota. He has often generated controversy by his alleged remarks against the community.