Phagwara 7 October
By-Jaswant Singh Gandam
Miss Nidhi Walia, President Animal Saviours, an NGO for animal welfare, made on 6 October an abortive attempt of self-immolation outside local SP’s office to protest alleged harassment by an NRI and a senior police official.
Her supporters intervened in time and prevented her from doing so, eye witness accounts said. She had carried a can full of fuel and had reportedly sprinkled some of it on her when her supporters accompanying her intervened and prevailed upon her not to do so, they said.
However, police denied that she had made any attempt to self-immolate or sprinkled fuel on her. Phagwara DSP Jaspreet Singh, when contacted, said that nothing of the sort had happened.
She has some issue with an NRI and we have called both the sides to sort out the matter, said DSP. The NRI’s only objection is to the presence of stray animals on his land, he said. Everything will be done as per law, DSP assured.
Nidhi Walia and her supporters, including a group of Nihangs, also staged dharna outside SP’s office in local Town Hall. She told newsmen that she was an animal activist and conservator.
“A team of 16 members was looking after four cows, one blind horse,24 injured stray dogs and many birds in the shelter”, she said.
She said that she carried her animal welfare activities in the premises of Phagwara-based, USA-settled NRI Ramesh Sharma in Keerti Nagar on Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road after the NRI had given the land on his own on to her in November first,201
“The NRI, who has given me the premises on his own, now wants me to vacate it”, she said, adding that she had told him that she had no intention to do a ‘kabza’ on his land but had only demanded some time for finding an alternative place for housing stray animals.
The NRI lodged a police complaint against me and I was summoned to a police station and a senior official humiliated me, she alleged. I was forced by the official to hand over the keys of the premises, she alleged. The NRI is giving me threats, she alleged. All in tears, she alleged that her character assassination is being done.
“I am single and stray animals are my only family and for their sake I will knock the doors of High Court and Supreme Court”, she declared.
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