Haryana: Several AAP Leaders Injured As Police Lathi-Charge During Protest Against Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

Chandigarh: Several Haryana senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders including the state president Sushil Gupta and senior vice president Anurag Dhanda sustained multiple injuries in a police lathi-charge during the party protest against the arrest of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, in Kurukshetra on Friday.

Gupta who received multiple injuries on the his back, hands and legs and Dhanda who sustained a head injury, were hospitalised besides over 20 other leaders who were also hurt when the police which first used water cannons against the protesters, resorted to lathi-charge in its attempt to stop them from marching towards the residence of chief minister Nayab Saini.

Flaying the police lathi-charge on the party workers who, Gupta and Dhanda held, were holding a peaceful protest against Kejriwal’s arrest by ED in Delhi, claimed that more than 20 party leaders also sustained fractures in the hands and legs in the police action.

Earlier in the day, the AAP workers staged a demonstration near CM Saini's residence, shouted slogans against the BJP and later decided to march ahead to gherao the CM residence crossing the police barricading.

Water cannons used in Punjab 

Meanwhile, led by the Punjab AAP working president Budh Ram, a number of party workers held a demonstration at Mohali, near here. Most of the party's senior leaders including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were away to Delhi subsequent to the party national convenor Kejriwal’s arrest by ED.

The party workers were stopped by the police which had put up heavy barricading at the Mohali-Chandigarh border and used water cannons to stop them. Several workers claimed that they were hurt after being hit by the water cannon.

The state minister Aman Arora who was also present at the protest site, held that the party workers wanted to move towards the Chandigarh to gherao the Punjab BJP office, water cannons were used against them to stop them. He said that Kejriwal’s arrest was murder of democracy.