AMRITSAR, May 29: Twenty Punjab police personnel, who are behind bars at the high security central jail here on charges of committing excesses during militancy in the state, went on hunger strike demanding an end to ``witch hunting''.

A written statement released from the central jail by Baldev Singh, an undertrial DSP who is leading the protestors, demanded withdrawal of cases registered against them, since they were only ``performing their duty'' during the critical years. They also demanded an enquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of former Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, who committed suicide last Friday.

The statement said the undertrials decided to sit on a day-long hunger strike to draw the government's attention towards the ``harassment and mental torture'' that the police undertrials had to undergo. They also demanded protection from the state government.

Laxmi Kanta Chawla a local BJP legislator who met the undertrials gave an assurance that she would forward their demands to the state government.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.