A scuffle broke out between an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and a police officer in Punjab's Jalandhar over a dispute between two shopkeepers at the Shastri Nagar market in the city on the night of Wednesday, 21 September.
Raman Arora, who is the APP MLA of Jalandhar Central, got into an argument with Deputy Commissioner of Police Naresh Kumar Dogra, after which their supporters clashed with each other.
The scuffle was a result of a dispute between two groups over keeping things in front of each other's shops in Shastri market, according to The Indian Express. While Arora sided with a tyre shop owner, Dogra supported a cloth merchant.
Later, both parties met at a media house in Jalandhar to try and settle the matter, but it went in vain as things only got worse. There were reports of both sides using abusive language and manhandling each other, according to The Tribune.
DCP (Investigation) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja came to Dogra's rescue; Arora's supporters, including MLA Sheetal Angural, also reached the spot.
The arguments between the two sides continued till the early hours of Thursday, 22 September. The MLA lodged a complaint against the DCP, demanding action against him. Videos of the incident went viral on social media.
'Lawlessness in Punjab at Its Zenith': Congress
Condemning the incident, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa put out a series of tweets.
"The conduct of these MLAs is already well known as they are habitual offenders of the law. Moreover, I have been told by highly placed sources that instead of charging the MLAs, it happened the other way round as those assaulted have been slapped with serious sections of IPC," he tweeted.
He further added that "lawlessness in Punjab is at its zenith and life of no Punjabi is safe."
Three men reportedly sustained injuries during the melee and were admitted to the civil hospital, where another scuffle broke out, according to The Indian Express.
The groups ransacked the hospital, following which the staff called the police late at night.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and The Tribune.)
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