Chandigarh:
Former municipal councillor from Panipat Harish Sharma jumped into a canal on Thursday after being allegedly harassed by police in connection with a case, his family said. Panipat’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (headquarters) Satish Vats said Sharma jumped into the canal in Binjhol village and later his friend Rajesh and brother Satish also plunged into the water to save him.
Sharma’s brother Satish has been rescued while efforts are underway to trace him and Rajesh, Vats told PTI over the phone. His family told reporters in Panipat that the ex-councillor was mentally upset after a police case was registered against him and a few others on Diwali night.
The family members claimed that police had been putting pressure on Sharma and he was fearing arrest in the case. State Home Minister Anil Vij tweeted that a three-member committee headed by ADGP Sandeep Khirwar has been formed to probe the incident and it will submit its report in two days.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala hit out at the Khattar government, saying Sharma was “forced to take the extreme step due to the alleged harassment by state authorities”..
