Chandigarh, May 20 (IANS) Taking notice of an incident in which a 12-year-old boy was thrashed in Punjab's Malout town, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), on the orders of its Chairman Vijay Sampla, on Friday issued a notice to the state and sought an action-taken report by May 26.
As per information received by the NCSC, a Dalit woman in Malout in Sri Muktsar Sahib district alleged a non-Dalit man thrashed her son and later uploaded the crime video on the social media.
"One day, he (the accused) visited my house, stripped my 12-year-old son and thrashed him brutally. He also shot a video of the incident that he made it viral," the woman said in a complaint.
She said the police did not help her even when the accused threatened her inside a police station.
The commission asked the Divisional Commissioner (Ferozepur division), the Deputy Commissioner of Sri Muktsar Sahib), the Inspector General of Police (Faridkot range) and the Senior Superintendent of Police to investigate the case and to submit the report within seven days.
Sampla cautioned the officers that if the action-taken report is not received within the timeframe, the commission might exercise the powers of the civil court conferred on it under Article 338 of the Constitution and issue summon for personal appearance before it in New Delhi.
While the Centre's announcement to repeal three farm laws is seen as a political decision with eye on forthcoming assembly polls in five states, the BJP claims that it has nothing to do with elections as the party has won many states after laws were passed by the Parliament.
On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws after scores of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pitched their tents on various Delhi borders in protest against the three laws.
A nine-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the consortium of protesting farmers' bodies, will be meeting on Saturday, and it is likely to put forth four main demands. The meeting will also decide whether the SKM will go ahead with the originally announced 'March Towards Delhi' programme on November 26.
Congress legislator and Punjab unit party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the minimum support price (MSP) is the bigger issue than farm laws as it is the lifeline of farmers.
Extending his greetings to the people on Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, the Chief Minister said it was really a matter of great honour to inaugurate this prestigious project which happens to coincide with Gurpurab.
Three employees of Air India, accused of having a role in the smuggling of gold, have been arrested, officials said on Friday. They have been accused of having a hand in a recent incident wherein 1.5 kg gold -- stored beneath an aircraft's seat -- was seized.
