At A Glance: July 18, 2010

Cops thrash MLA, 8 suspended

Eight police personnel were suspended, three of them were later arrested and sent to jail, on Monday for allegedly beating up a ruling BJP MLA in the hill state of Uttarakhand. Sub-inspector Manoj Negi and constables Ravinder Kumar and Harinder Bhandari were arrested on charges of beating up MLA Rajkumar on Sunday night, SSP Dehradun Abhinav Kumar said. They were produced before a local court which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody, he said. A total of eight policemen were suspended for allegedly thrashing the MLA, a dalit, who represents Sahaspur segment in the state assembly. The incident happened when Rajkumar's vehicle was stopped by police at Premnagar in view of traffic snarl in the area sparked by a road accident. This led to heated arguments between the MLA and police who allegedly dragged the former out of his vehicle and thrashed him. Angry over the beating up of the MLA, a large number of BJP workers vandalised the Premnagar police post where the lawmaker was taken.

Councillor thrashes cop, held

Close on the heels of the alleged assault on a ruling BJP MLA in Uttarakhand, a Municipal Councillor was arrested on Wednesday on the charge of thrashing a policeman in Mussoorie. Rajwant Rawat, a nominated member, was arrested after he allegedly beat up a constable, police said. Rawat, who was hit by a moving car in Springroad area, reportedly asked the policeman on duty to catch the erring driver. When the policeman did not respond, he flew into rage and allegedly thrashed the cop. A case was registered against Rawat who was later arrested, police said. Two days ago, eight police personnel were suspended, three of them were arrested and sent to jail, for allegedly beating up a ruling BJP MLA.

Move to set up varsity flayed

The Uttarakhand government's move to set up an Ayurvedic university on the premises of Rishikul Vidyapeeth established by freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya has come under fire from various quarters in Haridwar. A group of sadhus and priests have launched an indefinite sit-in demanding cancellation of the government notification on setting up the university. They claim that Rishikul Vidyapeeth would lose its identity in case an Ayurvedic university is allowed to be built within its premises. Mapor opposition party in the state assembly has already lent his support to them in this regard. Uttarakhand Medical Association has opposed the move saying the Ayurvedic University should be built outside Haridwar city. The All India Akhara Parishad, an apex body of various sects of sadhus, has also objected to the government decision. "Rishikul Vidyapeeth is working hard to spread Sanskrit language across the globe. Once another institute comes up there, Rishikul Vidyapeeth will lose its identity," said a spokesman of the Akhara Parishad.