The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has issued notices to the Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police over alleged police excesses against sanitation workers belonging to the Scheduled Caste community in Barnala.The commission has also asked them to submit an action-taken report within seven days. It said failure to submit the report within the stipulated period could result in the officials concerned being summoned to appear before it in person.The notices were issued on a complaint filed by Hardeep Singh Gill. The state police resorted to a lathicharge in Barnala on July 22 to disperse protesting sanitation workers after they allegedly tried to block a garbage clean-up drive by the district administration.While the police maintained that force was used after the protesters turned violent, the workers said the police used excessive force, alleging that even women protesters were beaten up with canes. The clash left 22 persons injured, including 18 sanitation workers and four police personnel.Sanitation workers in Barnala had been on strike since July 8 to demand regular job contracts for outsourced staff, a salary increase and the restoration of the old pension scheme.Following the incident, the state government suspended Barnala DSP Satvir Singh, while Barnala (City-1) station house officer (SHO) Lakhwinder Singh was transferred to the Police Lines.Meanwhile, the sanitation workers’ protest continues in Barnala, affecting garbage collection and disposal operations.Gulshan Kumar, district president of the Safai Karamchari Union, said the union, along with farmer organisations, the Class IV employees union, and several other groups, would march through Barnala as part of the state-wide bandh call.The development has once again brought the spotlight on the balance between maintaining public order and safeguarding the democratic right to peaceful protest.