Chandigarh/Sangrur/Barnala, July 29 -- A delegation of Punjab Congress MPs on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), seeking its immediate intervention into alleged police excesses against sanitation workers during a protest in Barnala last week. Addressed to NCSC chairman Kishor Makwana, the memorandum alleged that sanitation workers were subjected to excessive police force, including a baton charge, while peacefully protesting for their "legitimate rights and demands." On July 22, police resorted to a lathicharge in Barnala to disperse protesting sanitation workers after they allegedly tried to block a garbage clean-up drive by the district administration. The clash left 22 people injured, including 18 sanitation workers and four police personnel. The Congress delegation, comprising MPs Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who is also Punjab Congress president, Dr Amar Singh, Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and Gurjeet Singh Aujla, said that instead of addressing the grievances of the protesting workers, the district administration and police resorted to force. The delegation urged the NCSC to examine the matter under its constitutional mandate, seek a report from the Punjab government, order an impartial inquiry into the incident and fix accountability. Meanwhile, the Congress' Scheduled Caste wing staged a protest in Sangrur on Tuesday and marched towards the chief minister's residence against the police action. The protest was led by District Congress president Jagdev Gaga and SC wing chairman Shaktijit Singh. Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon on Tuesday visited the injured sanitation workers in Barnala and said the party has already met with the governor and sought strict action against the police officials involved. "The BJP stands with the sanitation workers. The injured workers should be compensated, and action should be taken against the officers involved," he said....