Sukhdev Thapar photo missing from wall memorial, kin protest

LUDHIANA: Irked over the negligence of the state government and district administration, the kin of martyr Sukhdev Thapar and members of Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust staged a protest outside the ancestral house of the martyr at Naughara Mohalla on Friday.
The protest was triggered after it was found the Sukhdev Thapar’s photograph was missing from a Freedom Fighters wall.The national president of the trust and kin of martyr Sukhdev Thapar, Ashok Thapar, in his letter to CM Bhagwant said, “It seems that Sukhdev Thapar is not a freedom fighter for the administration as well as the state government, that is why they did not display his photograph at a wall memorial where photographs of other freedom fighters were displayed.
Or since he is associated with Hindu religion, that is why he has been ignored.” He added that martyr Sukhdev Thapar is from the city and it is unfortunate that his photo is not displayed at the memorial.
He further claimed that in all the government offices too, photograph of Bhagat Singh is mandatory and Sukhdev Thapar is often ignored. He also questioned CM Mann on whether the government wants to please one particular section of society.
Notably, on Thursday, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had dedicated the ‘Freedom Fighters’ wall in the district administrative complex.