Punjab: Farmer leader Dallewal shifted to private hospital in Patiala
Farmer union leaders have demanded that the government issue a medical bulletin on Dallewal’s health; they alleged that, despite multiple requests, they were not allowed to meet him.
Senior farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been in police detention since March 19, was shifted to a private hospital in Patiala on Sunday morning. He was brought to the hospital under tight security from Jalandhar, where he had been held at a PWD guest house in the army cantonment area.
Before his transfer to Jalandhar, Dallewal was kept at the Commando Training Centre in Patiala. Although the Punjab government officials remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind shifting him to private hospital, sources in the health department confirmed that he is under medical observation.
The decision to move Dallewal back to Patiala, the epicentre of the year-long farmers’ protest at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, has raised eyebrows. Farmer union leaders have demanded that the government issue a medical bulletin on Dallewal’s health. They alleged that, despite multiple requests, they were not allowed to meet him.
“The government must clarify Dallewal’s health condition by issuing a medical bulletin. We are being kept in the dark, and our repeated requests to meet him have been denied,” said a farmer leader.
Dallewal was detained along with hundreds of farmers on Wednesday after the state government began a crackdown against those protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri border points. The protest had been going on since February 13 last year when farmers’ march to Delhi, demanding minimum support price for crops, was halted by security forces.