Ludhiana: Members of various Sikh organisations blocked the Ludhiana-Delhi national highway at Basti Jodhewal Chowk for half an hour on Sunday, demanding the arrest of social media influencer Chetan Sharma for hurting religious sentiments. The agitators warned the police that they would block both sides of the highway permanently if the accused is not captured soon.The city police has already registered a case against Sharma on June 17 following a controversial video, but the influencer has since been on the run. This demonstration follows an earlier protest on June 22, where groups blocked the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road outside the police commissioner’s office to demand an FIR.Protestors expressed frustration over the 10-day delay in arresting Sharma, claiming they have managed to track the suspect better than the authorities.A protestor said, “Our teams have been trying to track the accused. A few days ago he was seen in Ghaziabad and on Saturday night he was in Chandigarh. If we are able to track him, why have the police failed to nab him? When we questioned the police, they said that they had got the information about Chetan’s presence in Chandigarh, however he escaped from there.”The demonstrators also demanded that the police legally block the accused from obtaining anticipatory bail.The half-hour sit-in ended after assistant commissioner of police Kikar Singh arrived at the spot to pacify the crowd. The ACP scheduled a meeting between the protest leaders and senior officials at the commissioner’s office for Monday.Furthermore, Singh gave them assurance that the police will not let him avail an anticipatory bail, prompting the groups to clear the highway under a final warning of a larger blockade.
