Kangana slap row: Farmer outfits come out in support of CISF woman constable

PTI, Jun 8, 2024, 8:34 AM IST

Kangana Ranaut

Chandigarh: Some farmer outfits on Friday threw their weight behind the CISF woman constable who allegedly slapped actor and BJP MP-elect Kangana Ranaut, saying the entire sequence leading to the incident needs to be properly investigated.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are among the prominent outfits which said they stand in support of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable.

Constable Kulwinder Kaur, who allegedly hit Ranaut and abused her during security check at the Chandigarh airport on Thursday, has been suspended and an FIR lodged against her.

Kaur was apparently upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers’ protests. The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.

The Mohali Police has booked Kaur under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Both are bailable offences.

No arrest has been made yet, officials said and added that the FIR was registered on a complaint from the CISF.

Ranaut, in a video message on Thursday, said she was hit in the face and abused by the constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport, the ugly fracas breaking out two days after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher met Punjab’s Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Friday afternoon, seeking a proper investigation into the matter.

“The main issue which we raised is that there should be no injustice to the constable. We have been assured that investigations are being held impartially,” Dallewal said after the meeting.

Mohali Police SHO (Airport) Inspector Periwinkle Grewal said the matter is under investigation.

In a meeting, CISF officials gave the Mohali police information about the incident, another police official told reporters. He added that footage from CCTV cameras are being scanned and after that the next course of action will be taken.

Earlier in the day, while addressing a press conference here with Pandher and some other farmer leaders, Dallewal said an “Insaaf march” to the senior superintendent of police’s office will be taken out in Mohali on June 9 “to demand that no injustice be done in this case with the constable”.

In a video statement titled “Shocking rise in terror and violence in Punjab” posted on X after she landed in Delhi after the incident on Thursday, Ranaut said she was safe and fine.

The constable, Ranaut had said, came towards her from the side. “She hit me in the face and started abusing me. I asked her why she did it and she said she supports the farmer protests.”

“I am safe but my concern is that terrorism and extremism are increasing in Punjab… How do we handle that?” Ranaut had said.

Another video doing the rounds on social media showed the agitated constable talking to people presumably after the incident.

“Kangana made a statement (earlier) that farmers were protesting in Delhi because they were paid Rs 100 or Rs 200. At the time, my mother was one of the protesters,” she said in the purported video.

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar termed the incident “most unfortunate” and said any form of violence as a means of expressing dissent was unacceptable and warrants condemnation. “What is even more concerning is that a person wearing a security uniform indulged in such an unlawful violent act,” he said.

Dallewal and Pandher said the constable’s brother was active in farmer movements and was part of their organisation.

Sher Singh Mahiwal, the brother of the constable, who is based in Kapurthala, on Friday, told the media that his sister has been in service for the past 15 years and served in many places, including Kerala, Chennai and Amritsar.

“Kulwinder Kaur is my younger sister. We are six brothers and sisters,” he said.

About the incident, he said, “As per the information we have, Kulwinder Kaur told her (Kangana) to put her purse and mobile phone through the scanner during security check over which some argument broke”.

“We are saying if Kaur has slapped, some video proof should be there,” he said.

“Sometimes Kangana makes some remarks about farmers, sometimes about our women. ‘Kaur Khalistani’ word was used by Ranaut and she should be booked for this,” he alleged.

Kulwinder Kaur’s mother Veer Kaur said the family has several relatives who are in the defence forces. “Ranaut must have said something provocative,” she alleged.

Refusing to believe that her daughter could have slapped Ranaut, she said, “Is there any video proof that she slapped her?”

Both Dallewal and Pandher lashed out at the actor for stating that terrorism was increasing in Punjab.

Dallewal said what they have come to know from various reports is that there was some argument from Ranaut’s side during the security check when her purse and mobile phone were being put in for checking.

If this is so, then the constable is not to be blamed, she was doing her duty, he said.

“And everyone knows the previous track record of Ranaut and the kind of language she has used for farmers. There must have been an argument and that must have led to the incident. All these things need proper investigation,” he said.

Taking on Ranaut over her “terrorism” and “extremism” remark, Dallewal said, “In Punjab, communities of all faiths are peacefully co-existing. We demand that a case should be filed and courts should take suo motu cognisance of the wordings used by the BJP MP.”

“Ranaut is an actor and now even an MP, she should not speak such language. This is condemnable. We demand that action be taken against her,” he said.

The two farmer leaders claimed that people, including farmers, have taught the BJP a lesson in the recently held Lok Sabha polls. “From rural areas, 73 of their candidates lost this time,” he claimed.

In Haryana, they could win only five seats, in Uttar Pradesh, they had to face heavy defeat while they also lost heavily in Rajasthan. During the farmer’s agitation, they used tear gas, and bullets and people of the country have expressed their anger through the ballot, Dallewal claimed.