Farmers Movement Archive

40 farm activists detained in Chandigarh, let off later

Around 40 farm activists of various organisations were deterred from staging a “peaceful protest” at an event of the Municipal Corporation in Behlana here today. They were detained and let off later.The protesters, in several videos doing the rounds on social media, claim that they were beaten, bundled up in police vehicles and taken to the Sector 31 police station as they arrived at the traffic light point near the venue of the event for laying the foundation stone of developmental projects in 13 villages, which was to be attended by Governor of Punjab and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Adviser Dharampal and Mayor Ravikant Sharma.A member of the Naujawan Kisan Ekta (BKU Charuni, Chandigarh faction), Kirpal Singh, has alleged that the Mauli Jagran SHO, Rohit Kumar, had assaulted, threatened and abused him before taking him to Sector 31.While getting his medical examination done from the GMCH 32, he shared, “I had first arrived at the gurdwara near the venue of the event, but the villagers said the protesters had been gathering at the light point. When I went there and waved a black flag, Rohit Kumar, SHO of Mauli Jagran, grabbed me by the throat and while beating me, took me to the police vehicle. He hurled expletives as he hit me in my stomach, right below the ribs.”He added, “He kept hitting me for about five minutes in the police vehicle and when I asked him to beat me on my back, not the stomach, he stopped and reminded me of the Lakhimpur violence — ‘you know what happened to your kinds in Lakhimpur, don’t you,’ he kept threatening me.”Rohit Kumar has denied these allegations. He said, “I did not hit anyone. I was a farmer too, before joining service. We were just sending all protesters to the Sector 31 police station.” SSP Kuldeep Chahal said, “Nothing like that. We have to maintain law and order situation.”As the members of the Naujawan Kisan Ekta (BKU Charuni), BKU (Tikait) and the Pendu Sangharsh Committee arrived at the traffic light point of the village, a few metres from the venue, they were bundled up in a police vehicle and sent to Sector 31 Police Station, reads a communication of the Pendu Sangharsh Committee.“We were arriving at the traffic light point of Behlana in groups of two and three people, but the police were not allowing us to stand there and protest peacefully, leave alone letting us go to the venue,” said Sarvesh Yadav of the Naujawan Kisan Ekta.The protest against the three farm laws was being staged in accordance with a countrywide call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha for peacefully agitating against all BJP events. — TNS

The Tribune

2021-10-11

Chandigarh