Former Union minister Vijay Sampla seeks SC/ST Act in Ajay Atwal murder case, action against Doda

Former Union minister and former Punjab BJP president Vijay Sampla on Sunday demanded that provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be added to the FIR registered in the murder of 28-year-old Dalit youth Ajay Atwal. He also sought the inclusion of liquor baron-turned-politician Shiv Lal Doda’s name in the case, warning that protests could spread across Punjab if the state government failed to deliver justice.

Atwal was shot outside the Bhagwan Valmiki temple in Sant Nagar, Abohar, on September 27. He sustained serious bullet injuries and died during treatment on October 19.

Sampla visited the government hospital in Abohar, where Atwal’s family has been protesting for the past week. The family has refused to allow a post-mortem examination or cremation of the body until its demands are met.

Family demands arrests and CBI investigation

The family is seeking the immediate arrest of everyone allegedly involved in the killing, a fair and impartial investigation, and a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Addressing the protesters, Sampla appealed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice. He said the police must examine all available evidence, review the sections invoked in the FIR and add appropriate legal provisions wherever justified by the evidence.

“The government must stop shielding the actual culprits in the Ajay Atwal case and take appropriate action against Shiv Lal Doda as well. Just as people are mobilising for justice for Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and Ajay Atwal in Abohar, the movement will spread across Punjab if the government fails to deliver justice,” Sampla said.

The former Union minister was accompanied by Punjab BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha president and former Jalandhar West MP Sheetal Angural, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar and other party leaders.

Sampla cites 2015 Bhim Tank murder case

Sampla said Atwal was a witness in the 2015 Bhim Tank murder case, for which Doda is serving a life sentence.

He also targeted Mann and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that they had previously assured Bhim Tank’s family that justice would be delivered. Sampla further claimed that they had promised a government job under the Delhi government to a family member but subsequently failed to provide the promised support.

Doda’s daughter-in-law, Suhani Doda, was recently appointed by the Aam Aadmi Party as its halka in-charge for the Abohar Assembly constituency.

Angural said he would oppose Mann’s proposed visit to Abohar on November 1 if the family’s demands remained unaddressed. He urged the government to act before the Chief Minister’s visit.

Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar had also accompanied Atwal’s mother and other family members to a protest outside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on October 22. The protesters sought justice in the case but were later detained by the police.

National commission seeks action-taken report

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) has taken suo motu cognisance of Atwal’s death, seeking an impartial investigation and protection for the bereaved family.

In a letter dated October 23 to the Punjab chief secretary and the director general of police, the commission called for their intervention and sought an action-taken report on the matter.