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Journalism of Courage
The Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes (PSSCC) on Wednesday ordered the arrest of state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring in connection with alleged casteist remarks on the late Union minister Buta Singh.
The Commission asked Kapurthala DSP Hargurdev Singh, who was summoned to the Commission office in Chandigarh, as to “why action has not been taken, so far?”
Ticking off the tardy probe into the case, PSSCC chairman Jasvir Singh Garhi asked the DSP, “Why the accused, who (Warring) is visible at public functions, has not been arrested. He is not some Robin Hood who cannot be found.”
Garhi reportedly referred to media footage showing Warring attending public events in Tarn Taran and Nawanshahr and asked why the police had been unable to trace or arrest him despite such appearances.
Garhi told the DSP to treat the matter with urgency and ensure action by the November 20 deadline the Commission had set, and to file weekly progress reports.
The DSP informed the commission that an FIR was registered on November 4, and investigators had recorded the complainant’s statement and caste certificate.
The DSP also said the video evidence furnished by the complainant had been handed over for forensic examination — a process he estimated would take around seven to ten days.
The chairman, however, said “such delays were unacceptable given the public visibility of the accused” and ordered urgent action.
Ludhiana MP Warring faced a backlash after the videos of the speech, where he referred to Buta Singh’s community, Mazhabi Sikhs, and “his complexion”, went viral. Subsequently, Warring was booked at the Cyber Crime police station in Kapurthala, following a complaint lodged by Buta Singh’s family members. Taking suo motu cognisance of the remarks, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes sought an action taken report from authorities in Tarn Taran within seven days.
The complaint was lodged by Sarabjot Singh, son of the late Buta Singh, under relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other sections of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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