Farmers Movement Archive

‘At least 30 protesters missing since Jan. clashes’

The whereabouts of at least 30 people after the January 26 violence and January 29 clashes are not known as of February 7, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) legal team at the Singhu border said on Monday. “For the last four-five days, our team has been going from one trolley to the other and checking details against the list that we have. This exercise has been completed at the Singhu border,” said advocate Ramandeep Bhathal, member of the legal team. Apart from checking the trolleys, Ms. Bhathal said that the team on the ground shares details with their seniors who further check at police stations. “Our own Information Technology cell also tries to trace the numbers of those that we have,” Ms. Bhathal said, adding that they fear that most of the missing persons would have been arrested. Making announcements However, a problem being faced by advocates is that there are a few names in the list of “missing persons” for whom they have no contact details. “We have been making announcements at the stage too, but we need people to come and tell us about numbers of families or persons who are missing so that we can get their details,” Ms. Raman said. The open school, ‘Sanjhi Sathh’, also opened for the second day at the Singhu border on Monday. The school was shut since January 24. “Initially because of January 26 preparations and later, because of Internet suspension, we couldn’t open the school. Today, over 50 children had come for the class. It’ll slowly increase,” said Sukhwinder Singh Barwa from Ropar who is among the group which runs the open school. Protesting farmers also said that despite no formal resumption of talks with the government yet, they’ll continue their agitation till the laws are repealed. “This fight is to be fought with love. Whether they agree or not, we won’t leave till they do. All struggles take time to reach their desired end. We are willing to stay here for even two years,” said Balbir Singh (51) from Patiala, adding that they’re not scared of arrests being made. Mr .Sukhwinder said that the protest will continue to grow stronger and all their fights will include “flowers” as a response to any strict measures. For the last four-five days, our team has been going from one trolley to the other and checking details against the list that we have Ramandeep Bhathal Member of SKM’s legal team

The Hindu

2021-02-09

NEW DELHI