Farmers Movement Archive

Karnal violence: Commission of inquiry terminated, will not submit report

The commission of inquiry headed by former Punjab and Haryana high court judge justice SN Aggarwal to inquire into the sequence of events leading to violence including police lathi-charge on protesting farmers at Bastara toll plaza in Karnal on August 28 last year has been wound up.The inquiry report of the one-man commission of inquiry will not see the light of the day as the farmers have withdrawn their complaint about the Bastara incident.“The farmers’ unions have reached an agreement with the state government. The government will withdraw all the cases registered against the farmers and we have decided to withdraw our complaint. So, we have taken back the complaint regarding the Bastara incident,” Haryana BKU leader Gurnam Singh Charuni said.A notification announcing that the commission of inquiry ceases to exist with effect from January 5 has been issued by the Haryana home department.Chairman of the commission of inquiry, justice (retd) SN Aggarwal said having completed the inquiry and finalised the report, he tendered his resignation on January 3.“I have informed the high court as well that the inquiry report is ready and will be submitted whenever the state government asks me to do so,” justice (retd) Aggarwal said.As per the Commissions of Inquiry Act, the state government has to lay the report of the commission along with a memorandum of the action taken before the state assembly within six months of the submission of the report by the commission.“So, if the commission submits a report, the state government has to lay it in the assembly along with an action taken report within six months. If it doesn’t, the matter ends,” said an official.The commission of inquiry set up on September 25 last year was mandated by the cabinet to inquire into the circumstances leading up to and including the action by the police in Karnal on August 28 and the use of force against the demonstrators.The commission was also asked to find the persons responsible for the violent situation and the role of the then Karnal sub-divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha, a 2018-batch IAS officer, in the episode.Sinha was purportedly heard in a video instructing the cops to thrash farmers if they tried to breach the barricades near the spot where a BJP event was going on. Sinha later said the video was edited and selective portions of his instructions were shown to create a controversy.The agitating farmers, led by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders, had on September 7 last year had laid siege at the Karnal mini-secretariat. The farmers had demanded registration of a criminal case against IAS officer Ayush Sinha and compensation for the injured farmers.Even as the talks remained inconclusive for a couple of days, a breakthrough was achieved when the state government deputed additional chief secretary Devender Singh to hold negotiations.The farmers had called-off the protest after the state government made a commitment to hold a judicial inquiry into the incident.Ayush Sinha posted as Panchkula additional deputy commissionerMeanwhile, the state government on Thursday posted 2018-batch IAS officer Ayush Sinha as Panchkula additional deputy commissioner. Sinha was Karnal sub-divisional magistrate when the Bastara violence took place and was subsequently transferred to Chandigarh as additional secretary in the citizen resources information department (CRID) to placate the agitating farmers.

Hindustan Times

07-01-2022

Chandigarh