Tensions flared in the Dhaliara area of Dehra within Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Monday after a political demonstration led by the Bharatiya Janata Party escalated into an aggressive showdown with local law enforcement. Party workers had gathered to hold a protest march regarding a recent controversy connected to Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. However, the agitation took an unruly turn when former state minister and Jaswan-Pragpur legislator Bikram Singh Thakur engaged in a heated argument with the station house officer on duty, ultimately shoving him and using disparaging language.
Dispute Over Burning Effigies on Public Roads
The protest procession commenced from Dhaliara market and progressed toward the bend along the Government Degree College road, drawing an estimated gathering of 300 to 350 party workers. Raising slogans against the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, demonstrators brought out effigies of Gandhi and JNU professor as well as Member of Parliament Dr. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam. When the crowd attempted to set the effigies on fire at a congested intersection, security personnel stepped in to halt the blaze due to safety concerns for bystanders.
As police officers tried to push back the gathering to prevent an uncontrolled fire, MLA Bikram Singh Thakur intervened directly. An intense verbal altercation ensued between the legislator and the local station house officer. During the heated exchange, the former minister physically pushed the police officer and uttered offensive remarks, aggressively questioning why the administration was intervening. He then ordered his cadres to bring another effigy to burn at the exact same location. The police officer pointed out that burning effigies in such a dense crowd risked injuring people, but the warning failed to calm the agitated leaders.
Officers Suffer Minor Burns Amid Chaos
Following the scuffle between the lawmaker and the police, members of the youth wing led by its district head Raman Sharma proceeded to ignite the effigy. As flames suddenly flared outward in the crowded space, a few police personnel standing nearby sustained minor burn injuries. The situation was prevented from degenerating into a major disaster through the prompt reaction of the security deployment, which extinguished the remnants and managed to disperse the immediate hazard.
Local administrative authorities had put extensive security measures in place across the protest route to safeguard public order. Traffic along the college corridor was actively regulated so that students and commuters did not face sustained gridlock during the standoff. Once the demonstration concluded and the crowd dispersed, normal vehicular movement was restored on the thoroughfare.
Opposition Leadership Attacks Ruling Party
The demonstration was attended by several prominent regional leaders, including former cabinet minister Ravindra Ravi, former Gagret lawmaker and district in-charge Rajesh Thakur, alongside former legislator Hoshiyar Singh. Addressing the assembly, the leaders expressed indignation over events in Delhi, demanding impartial investigations and strict administrative action against those implicated in campus controversies.
Speaking to the gathering, Bikram Singh Thakur asserted that public resentment against the state government is growing rapidly, predicting a complete electoral rout for the ruling Congress party in upcoming legislative polls. He maintained that student protests spearheaded by the women's wing were entirely justified given the nature of the allegations. Meanwhile, video footage capturing the confrontation between the elected representative and the police officer has widely circulated, generating sharp discussion over public conduct by political figures during street agitations.
