CHANDIGARH – The alleged thrashing of an NRI in a Ludhiana police detention cell inside the Ludhiana Court Complex has evoked protests in the US. The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has sought immediate suspension of alleged accused ASI Richard Maseeh of the Punjab Police.
NRI Ravinderjit Singh Gogi was allegedly thrashed by the ASI at the Ludhiana Court Complex on Monday. “The only fault of the NRI was that he was an expatriate who was on a visit to Punjab to take care of his father Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, who was observing a hunger strike for the last more than two months,” NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal said.
He said Gogi was produced in a court today for the fourth time in relation to a case registered against him under Sections 107/151 of the CrPC. Chahal said the victim’s sister told the NAPA office over the phone that on earlier court appearances the police used to keep her brother confined to the detention cell while waiting for his turn in the court.
“On Monday, ASI Richard Maseeh brought Gogi out of the detention cell at 1:30 pm. When her brother was brought outside, journalists started interviewing him and taking his photos. The ASI then started abusing her brother,” she alleged in a complaint to NAPA. “As soon as her brother asked the ASI to mind his language, he allegedly pushed him inside the cell and beat him up. The ASI punched him on his neck and back,” she alleged.
