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2 BKU Ekta Sidhupur activists held for forcing officials on duty to burn stubble
The arrests came a day after BKU activists gheraoed the Nehianwala police station on Sunday and forced police authorities to release another accused in the case, Bachittar Singh.
Two days after three members of a Punjab government inspection team were held hostage and forced to burn paddy stubble, the Bathinda police arrested two activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) in a late-night raid on Monday.
Nehinawala station house officer (SHO) Karamjeet Kaur said on Tuesday that Surjit Singh and Shivraj Singh were held on the basis of a first information report (FIR) lodged on Saturday.
They have been booked under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) 506 (criminal Intimidation) 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“Efforts are on nab seven others named in the case,” the SHO added.
The arrests came a day after BKU activists gheraoed the Nehianwala police station on Sunday and forced police authorities to release another accused in the case, Bachittar Singh.
Leaders of the BKU Ekta Sidhupur resented the move and held a meeting with the police officials, including IGP (intelligence) Jaskaran Singh, at Bathinda circuit house on Tuesday evening.
BKU state general secretary Kaka Singh Kotra on Tuesday said a state-level protest will be held outside Nehinawala police station on Wednesday as the meeting remained unfruitful.
“Scores of union activists were detained by the police who were gathering on Monday night to register the arrest of two union members. We will intensify the agitation if Surjit Singh and Shivraj Singh are not released,” he said.
On the afternoon of November 3, a three-member team, led by public works department (PWD) sub-divisional engineer (SDE) Harpreet Sagar, had reached Nehianawala village following a tip-off and found a paddy field, belonging to one Ram Singh, on fire.
As Sagar and two other junior engineers reached the spot, the BKU activists not only held them hostage but also forced them to set the crop residue afire. A video of farmers forcing the officials to burn the stubble was posted on social media, sparking an outrage.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann had on November 5 expressed his displeasure over the incident and posted the video, where the farmers can be identified, on social networking site X.
Though the team reported the matter to district authorities on Friday, an FIR was registered only after the CM ordered the police to act on Saturday.
