SAD men clash at CM’s house; Faction led by Mansa MC chief ‘thrashes’ sr vice-chief

SAD men clash at CM’s house

Faction led by Mansa MC chief ‘thrashes’ sr vice-chief

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Badal (Muktsar), April 29

The factionalism in the Mansa unit of SAD came to the fore today when two factions in the SAD-led Mansa Municipal Council clashed at the CM’s residence in Badal village here this afternoon.

During the melee, the turban of Gurmel Singh, senior vice-president, Mansa Municipal Council, was allegedly tossed. Councillor from ward 21 Mandeep Gora, who is SAD’s urban wing president of Mansa, sustained a minor injury on his arm.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had called both factions to his residence to settle some dispute that had arisen over the utilisation of MC funds.

The incident reportedly took place when the faction led by Gurmel Singh came out of the camp office of Sukhbir around 12.30 pm. The other faction led by Balwinder Singh ‘Kaka’, president of the Mansa Municipal Council, was that time reportedly waiting in the courtyard. Both the factions first indulged into a verbal duel and then had a clash.

Gurmel Singh claimed that his turban was tossed during the ruckus. He alleged, “Balwinder had indulged in some illegal activities and bungling the MC funds. We had raised this issue in the House meeting on April 20 and passed a no-confidence resolution against him. It was signed by 21 out of the total 27 councillors. The issue even came to the notice of Sukhbir, who had called us today for a meeting.

“We told the matter in detail to Sukhbir and also showed some documents to substantiate our claim. He marked a probe to DIG, Bathinda range, to investigate the matter and file a report by May 5.

“But when I came out of the camp office, the other faction, including Balwinder, his nephew Jaspal Singh ‘Kala’, an aide Rajiv Thekedar, Balor Singh and 10 others, thrashed me and tossed my turban.

“Mandeep Gora, a councillor from ward 21, tried to protect me. But he was attacked with a ‘kada’ and sustained an injury on his arm,” alleged Gurmel Singh.

After this alleged episode, Gurmel appeared before Sukhbir without his turban and sought action against Balwinder Singh and his accomplices. Later, he along with his supporters and councillors went to the Lambi police station and recorded his statement. However, Balwinder refuted the allegations.

Courtesy: The Tribune