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Ambala police drop murder charges against BKU farmers lodged in Naraingarh
Case was registered after a 70-year-old farmer died during BJP’s tractor rally in Naraingarh on October 14
Haryana Police have quashed the murder case registered against some farmers, including Bhartiya Kisan Union Charuni’s (BKU Charuni’s) Ambala chief Malkit Singh, after a 70-year-old farmer died during BJP’s tractor rally in Naraingarh on October 14.
Ambala SP Rajesh Kalia said the case was dropped on the basis of the reports received earlier this month. An SIT led by DSP (Cantt) Ram Kumar was investigating the matter, he said.
“The reports from Madhuban (Karnal) and Khanpur Kalan (Sonepat) have confirmed that the farmer died of heart failure, not as it was alleged. So, we have quashed the FIR on December 7, but other case lodged for blocking the national highway will remain intact,” Kalia added.
Naraingarh police station in-charge Gurmail Singh said, “We received the reports on December 2 after which we consulted the medical team that performed the autopsy at Naraingarh civil hospital. The doctors told us that the farmer had some heart-related problem and he died of heart failure.”
Bharat Singh, the deceased farmer from Baragarh village of Shahazadpur, was on a tractor that was allegedly attacked by the protesting farmers on NH 344 (Ambala-Roorkee national highway). An FIR amounting to murder was registered against seven farmers.
BKU state chief Gurnam Singh Charuni said the development has exposed the government’s real agenda.
“What the reports have revealed now is the same that we have been saying since he (Bharat SIngh) died. The government’s conspiracy to register false cases has been exposed,” he added.
This has come almost a week after senior leaders from the JJP, including Digvijay Chautala, party’s state chief Nishan Singh and others, met home minister Anil Vij in Chandigarh, seeking cancellation of cases against farmers.
It’s pertinent to mention here that Kurukshetra MP Naib Singh Saini had on October 16 held a press conference in Chandigarh where he alleged that the “goons” of Charuni, Congress and Nirmal Singh were behind the attack that claimed the life of Bharat Singh and had termed it a “murder.”
However, now Saini said, “He died of heart failure as the protesters blocked our way and tortured him.”
On being asked about the cancellation of the case, he said, “I’m not in a position to speak on this. I’ll check the details and respond.”
Saini was the organiser of the rally in support of the farm laws and was joined by Ambala MP and Union minister Rattan Lal Kataria, Ambala BJP chief Rajesh Batoura and other party leaders and workers.
