Congress Demands Legal Action Against Officials Over Illegal Demolition of MLA's Boundary Wall

PPCC president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday led a Congress delegation to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and submitted a representation, demanding “strict legal action” against police and civil administration officers involved in the “illegal” demolition of a boundary wall at the ancestral house of Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in Kapurthala’s Ramgarh village. The representation, also signed by Khaira, Deputy LoP Aruna Chaudhary and former Speaker Rana KP Singh, describes the demolition action on February 23 as a “blatantly illegal and contemptuous act” to silence Khaira’s vocal opposition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. According to the letter, 400-500 policemen, including Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora, DSP Bholath Karnail Singh, SHO Bholath Ranjit Singh and BDPO Nadala Kulwinder Singh Randhawa, arrived at 8 am without any prior notice and used a JCB machine to “demolish a portion of the boundary wall on Khaira’s private property”. The Congress leaders claim that ownership documents were “shown to the officials on the spot, but they refused to examine them or produce any demolition notice or order. The action violated principles of natural justice and the Supreme Court’s recent guidelines on bulldozer justice, which require a 15-day notice period followed by 15 days for the affected party to seek legal remedies”. “No notice of any sort was served by the local administration or the police and no opportunity of personal hearing was afforded,” the representation states, accusing the state machinery of “a pattern of political vendetta”, listing five FIRs registered against Khaira and his supporters since the AAP government came in power in March 2022 and described all the cases “false and frivolous”. Particularly criticising BDPO Randhawa, who allegedly led the demolition drive, the representation notes, “He faces an FIR (No. 37/2024, Vigilance Bureau, Patiala) under sections 409 & 120B of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, and was previously suspended in a separate case involving alleged misappropriation of Rs 41 lakh in government funds.” The signatories suggest the demolition was part of a quid pro quo arrangement linked to higher political directions. The Congress leaders have termed the episode an assault on democratic dissent and “bulldozer politics,” claiming it was personally orchestrated due to a grudge held by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann against Khaira for his persistent criticism of AAP policies. They have demanded compensation for mental agony and loss of reputation, along with criminal proceedings against the officers concerned in line with Supreme Court precedents.