National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Priyank Kanoongo on Wednesday met injured sanitation workers in Barnala and said the Commission had already sought a detailed report from the state Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) over the recent police lathicharge, but no FIR had been registered so far.Warning of legal action, Kanoongo said that if the situation remained unchanged, the Commission would pursue the matter “even up to the Supreme Court.”He alleged that the sanitation workers were hit on their heads, which violated the standard operating procedure (SOP) for crowd control. “They were beaten the way people were beaten under General Dyer,” he said.Kanoongo said the NHRC had issued a notice on July 27, seeking a report within two weeks and thereafter, statements of the victims were recorded.He added that appropriate action would be taken against those found responsible in accordance with the law and justice would be ensured for the victims.Earlier on Tuesday, Hardeep Gill, Vice-Chairperson of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, along with member Karam Singh Karma had also visited the injured and met senior district officials.Later at night, Barnala Mayor Hasanpreet Bhardwaj, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh and SSP Mohd Sarfaraz Alam, had also visited the injured workers at the Civil Hospital, apologised for the incident and extended financial assistance to them.The injured workers have been demanding the dismissal of former Barnala DSP Satvir Singh, who has since been suspended, and former Barnala City-1 SHO Lakhwinder Singh, who has been transferred to the police lines.They have also sought registration of a criminal case against the policemen, who were allegedly involved in the assault. The workers have also demanded a fulfilment of their long-pending demands, including regularisation of services.Meanwhile, the sanitation workers’ protest continued outside the Municipal Corporation office on Wednesday.The state-level union has already called for a Punjab bandh on Thursday, expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome of recent meetings with the state government. Public announcements were made in Barnala and other towns for the same.Repeated attempts to contact Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman Jasvir Singh Garhi, who had sought a report on the incident by July 28, proved futile.NHRC finds gaps in implementation of Ayushman scheme, SC students’ scholarshipsDuring his visit, Kanoongo also chaired a review meeting with district officials, during which he claimed that some welfare-related gaps came to light.He said deficiencies were noticed in the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), while many Scheduled Caste students studying in private schools were reportedly not receiving the pre-matric scholarship.Kanoongo directed the district administration to take immediate corrective measures and asked officials to submit a compliance report to the Commission.