Eleven activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) were on Tuesday booked for holding three Punjab government officials hostage and attacking a police team at the grain market in Bathinda’s Raike Kalan on Monday evening.
A group of farmers protesting over the issue of moisture content limit in paddy crop during its auction at the grain market allegedly held two food inspectors, including a woman, and a naib tehsildar (revenue official) captive and later clashed with the police. Six people, including three personnel, were injured and two police vehicles were damaged in the clash, officials said.
The farmers were pressuring the food inspectors to allow buying paddy while overlooking the high moisture content. The naib tehsildar arrived to get the food inspectors released when the protesting farmers took him into their illegal custody, too.
A police team reached the grain market to get the officials released but the protesting farmers refused to let them go, leading to the clash. Later, the police team managed to get the two officials released and the injured were taken to the civil hospital in Bathinda.
Farmers charged with attempt to murder, no arrest yet
{{/usCountry}}Farmers charged with attempt to murder, no arrest yet
{{/usCountry}}The two first information reports (FIRs) were registered at Nandgarh police station. A district police spokesperson said on Tuesday that no one has been arrested yet.
According to sources, six people, including the three police personnel, suffered injuries when the police used force to get the officials released.
The first FIR was registered on the complaint of Rajveer Singh, the inspector with the state food and civil supplies department’s Pungrain. Rajveer said that his colleague Navjot Kaur from Punsup and naib tehsildar Vipin Sharma were held hostage at the mandi at Raike Kalan.
He said Jagsir Singh Jhumba, Ram Singh, Ajay Pal Singh and Gora Singh led the group of farm union activists that held the officials captive while pressuring them to allow the buying of paddy by overlooking the high moisture content.
The four union leaders were booked under Sections 221 (to obstruct any public servant in the discharge of his public functions; 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty); 127 (wrongful confinement); 191 (rioting); and 190 (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Second FIR on injured policeman’s complaint
Another FIR was registered on the complaint of assistant sub inspector Paramjeet Kumar. He said that the officials were rescued, a group of farmer unions led by Ram Singh stopped his vehicle and attacked him with an axe, resulting in injuries on his right hand.
On his complaint, 10 farmer leaders, namely Ram Singh, Jagsir Singh Jhumba, Ajay Pal Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Lachhman Singh, Gurtej Singh, Buta Singh, Jagdev Singh, Jhanda Singh and Harjinder Singh, were charged under Sections 109 (for attempt to murder), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt) 61 (2) criminal conspiracy and other sections of the BNS.
Jhumba, the leader of the union’s Bathinda unit, said that the officials were held hostage as a mark of protest due to “irregularities” in paddy procurement.
Deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray denied any laxity in paddy procurement at Raike Kalan mandi.
BJP condemns ‘lathi-charge’
Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Sampla condemned the “lathi-charge” on farmers, claiming AAP was avenging its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing mediapersons, he said that before the Lok Sabha elections, AAP sponsored farmer agitation on the Shambhu border. “The AAP wanted farmers to pay back by ensuring victory of 13 AAP candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, but it lost 10 Lok Sabha seats. The ruling party is now irate on farmers,” he added.