An advocate , former assistant professor of Tourism in HNB Garhwal University, senior journalist and advocate Ashutosh NEGI , a spokesman of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal who has joined UKD last year and had also contested the parliamentary election from Garhwal against BJP’s national media in-charge now MP Anil Baluni and Congress party’s Ganesh Godiyal has been released on bail and is out of jail today morning received by number of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal members garlanding him.
A relentless struggler and a leader to the core fighting for people centric issues in Uttarakhand, Negi was arrested with another activist Ashish Negi for going to an hotelier leading a delegation to demand release of blocked salaries of few employees by the resort owner at Yamkeshwar having heated arguments with the owner, but instead of lauding their efforts to help the employees Ashish Negi and Ashutosh Negi , the youth in-charge of UKD and its spokesman were arrested arbitrarily on the written complaint of the Hotel/ resort owner registering charges on extortion and other serious charges terming him as a history sheeters under the Bhartiya Nyay Sangita arrested them and sending to 14 days judicial custody. There had been spate of protest demonstrations in Rishikesh and Dehradun and lot written in their support in print as well as the social media. Thousands of enraged citizens – youths, women , students and even senior citizens have come in streets in Garhwal and Kumaon region in their support even courting arrests and burning effigies. In several demonstrations especially the one held outside the residence of the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami there were skirmishes between the women protestors and lady police with several women protestors becoming unconscious and allegedly injured. Some even on plaster as Major ( retired) Ms Bhandari a relentless fighter and chief of the UKD Women’s wing. Ashutosh NEGI has in the past also exposed a scam in an Intermediate school of Pauri Garhwal and a fabricated and unsubstantiated case was registered against him under SC ST act and he was jailed, released on bail after several days in prison. He fought for justice to Ankita Bhandari since day one when this 19 year old girl had died brutally with her dead body found in “Chila canal” Rishikesh. He had also filed two petitions in Uttarakhand high Court and Supreme Court but were turned down. The demand was for CBI enquiry for bringing the VIP to justice. The wife of Ashutosh NEGI was also allegedly transferred to distant Pithoragarh whose transferred has been stayed by the Uttarakhand high Court after she went to the court to seek justice terming this action as being vindictive in nature because her husband is fighting the case of Ankita Bhandari seeking justice for the bereaved family and dispensation of constitutional justice to victim including stringent punishment to the main guilty VIP.
SUNIL NEGI , Editor UKnationnews, Director Press Club of India, President, Uttarakhand Journalists Forum
