In Rishikesh, bike showroom clash ends in FIR against councillor, claims of turban being forcibly removed

In a counter-complaint, the councillor accused the showroom owner and staff of assault and of using caste-based slurs against him.

An FIR was filed on the basis of the showroom owner Ranjit Singh’s complaint under charges of extortion, outraging the modesty of women, robbery and criminal intimidation, among others. The FIR named the councillor, Veerpal Singh, as well as two others – Kailash and Suraj Jatav – and other unnamed persons. Later, three people identified as Dharambir, Raju and Raja were arrested in connection with the case.

Following Veerpal Singh’s counter-complaint against Ranjit Singh, an FIR was filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. No arrests have been made yet under this FIR.

According to Ranjit’s complaint, between noon and 12.30 pm on Sunday, Veerpal, who has allegedly been demanding Rs 50,000 a month for the past two months from the showroom, started abusing him and his staff when they refused to pay the “extortion money”. “After that, they assaulted me, the entire staff, and my sons. Veerpal and his associates molested and attempted to assault a female staff member. They also looted valuable belongings from us, including a gold chain from my son, Ustak, and Rs 1.5 lakh from the shop,” Ranjit alleged.

He also accused Veerpal and associates of vandalising the showroom. “They removed and threw away the turban of my brother Raghubir Singh and nephew Hardeep. They dragged Hardeep Singh by his hair and started beating him,” Ranjit said in the complaint.

A video of the incident shows a group of men assaulting a man after removing his turban.

Ranjit said his nephew sustained serious injuries in the attack. “They assaulted the entire staff and my family members, and even threatened to kill us and set the showroom on fire,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, Veerpal claimed that he had gone to the showroom after getting complaints from local residents regarding the alleged nuisance caused by their vehicles parked on the road.

“These vehicles create significant problems for the general public in terms of movement and safety. When I, as a councillor, personally went to the showroom to raise the complaint, Ranjit Singh, along with his staff and employees, assaulted me and threw me off the road. I was verbally abused with caste-based slurs by the showroom owner,” Veerpal, who is from a Dalit community, said in his complaint.

The councillor did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.