Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 22: Tension prevailed in the RS Pura area here today as locals blocked the main road at Daljeet Chowk for nearly four hours, protesting the allegedly death of a BSF jawan in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Punjab’s Amritsar.
The protest started around 11 AM and continued till 3 PM, disrupting the vehicular movement.
Several prominent persons, including the DGPC Jammu Head, local MLA, and the community members of the deceased BSF Jawan Jaswinder Singh, joined the demonstration and demanded a time-bound and impartial inquiry into the incident, along with justice for the bereaved family.
34-year-old Singh, a resident of New Diwangarh area of RS Pura was posted in the 42nd Battalion of the Border Security Force in Tripura, and was on leave when he was reportedly picked up by a team of the Narcotics Control Bureau from Jammu on March 3 in connection with a case being investigated by the central agency.
The protesting family members of the deceased jawan alleged foul play, claiming that they were informed only on March 20 that Singh had died in a hospital in Amritsar after his blood pressure allegedly dropped.
His wife Naveneet Kour said he was taken forcibly for questioning and later declared dead under suspicious circumstances, while his mother Gurmeet Kaur accused the agency of custodial torture and demanded strict punishment for those responsible.
Senior officers, including SP Jammu South Dr Ajay Sharma and ADC Law & Order Jammu, Dr Ansuya Jamwal, visited the spot and assured that Jammu and Kashmir Police would play a constructive role in securing justice.
The officers told the agitating family members that the Punjab authorities have ordered a transparent inquiry into the matter, even as the Punjab Human Rights Organisation has sought a high-level probe into what it termed a serious case of custodial torture.
The protest was eventually called off following assurances from the administration, and the last rites of the deceased jawan were performed around 4 PM.
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