Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking an independent and time-bound inquiry into allegations that anti-drug activist Mohanjit Singh was brutally assaulted in police custody and forcibly made to consume drugs after he protested during Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit to his village in Sangrur district.Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa have submitted separate representations to NHRC, seeking an independent investigation into the alleged assault, illegal detention and custodial torture of Mohanjit, a resident of Sheron village in Sangrur district.Warring accused Mann of behaving like Ahmed Shah Abdali and said the Chief Minister should be ashamed of the alleged police torture of a youth who had waved a black flag during his visit. He termed the alleged incident an example of “police brutality and barbarity” under the AAP government.According to the Congress leaders, Mohanjit peacefully protested on September 2 by waving a black cloth and raising slogans from the rooftop of a house during Mann’s public programme in Sheron. A video of the incident was widely shared on social media. Mohanjit, who works to spread awareness about the dangers of drug abuse, was protesting against what he described as the government’s failure to curb the drug menace despite its “Yudh Nasheyan Virudh” campaign, including in the Chief Minister’s home district.In his complaint to NHRC chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian, Warring alleged that police personnel caught Mohanjit on the rooftop after the Chief Minister left the location and assaulted him for nearly an hour. According to Mohanjit’s account cited in the complaint, the police beat him with a slipper “more than a thousand times” before taking him to the Jattvibeam police chowki. There, he was allegedly subjected to third-degree torture, including electric shocks, and his legs were forcibly stretched apart.Warring further alleged that a person identified as Prateek Jindal pulled Mohanjit’s beard and hair during the assault. The activist allegedly suffered bruises and lacerations, over which salt was sprinkled. His underwear was allegedly torn before he was thrown into a toilet.The complaint also alleges that the assault was shown to another person through a video call and that the person on the other end was asked whether “anything further should be done to him”.Another serious allegation in the complaint is that Mohanjit was forcibly made to consume drugs while in custody and was subsequently subjected to a dope test, which returned positive. An FIR was then registered against him for allegedly consuming drugs. Warring described the FIR as “fabricated” and said the circumstances surrounding the alleged forced consumption of drugs and the subsequent test required independent examination.Warring has sought a detailed report from the Punjab Government and police on Mohanjit’s alleged arrest, treatment in custody, medical examination, dope test and the FIR. He has also asked NHRC to preserve and examine CCTV footage, video recordings, medical and MLR records, the dope-test report, police and call records, and other electronic evidence related to the incident.He further sought an independent medical examination of Mohanjit and identification of the person allegedly present on the other end of the video call. Warring urged the commission to establish the role of every person allegedly involved and seek an explanation from the Punjab government and police regarding the entire sequence of events.Bajwa, in his representation to the NHRC chairman, sought suo motu cognisance of the matter and an independent inquiry. He demanded the immediate suspension of the DSP and other police personnel allegedly involved, preservation of all evidence, including CCTV footage from the police station, an independent medical examination of Mohanjit, and protection for the youth and his family against further harassment or intimidation.Bajwa said that, if the allegations were found to be true, the incident would constitute a serious violation of fundamental rights, including the right to life, dignity, personal liberty and freedom of peaceful expression. “Punjab is not a police state. No government or police force can be allowed to treat peaceful dissent as a crime,” he said.“A peaceful protest cannot justify assault, torture, humiliation, threats or custodial abuse,” Warring said in his complaint, stressing that those responsible for the alleged torture and the registration of the FIR should be dealt with severely.Interacting with mediapersons, Warring said the Congress stood firmly with Mohanjit. He said Bajwa had already met the youth and that he himself would visit him later in the day.Warring also announced that the Congress would organise a massive protest on September 8 against what it alleged was corruption by the AAP government, which, he claimed, had “crossed all limits”.On Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit to Punjab, Warring said the dates were being finalised and would be announced soon.