‘For her own safety’: Delhi Police on why Shaheen Bagh Dadi was stopped at Singhu border

Bano, along with two other grandmothers emerged as the face of NRC-CAA protests earlier this year. Her husband died about 11 years ago and she currently lives in Shaheen Bagh with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Bilkis Bano, the 82-year-old who earned the moniker “Dadi of Shaheen Bagh” was detained by police on Tuesday as she joined farmers protesting against the recently enacted farm laws at the Singhu Border in Delhi. The police later in the day said that Bano is a senior citizen and stopped “for her own safety” amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bilkis Dadi of Shaheen Bagh taken away by police as she arrives at Singhu Border to sit with protesting farmers against the farm laws. (HT photo/ Vipin Kumar)

“Bilkis Bano is a senior citizen and due to Covid-19 pandemic, she was stopped at Singhu Border and escorted by police to her home in Delhi for her own safety,” news agency ANI quoted Gaurav Sharma, DCP as saying.

Bano, along with two other grandmothers emerged as the face of NRC-CAA protests earlier this year. Her husband died about 11 years ago and she currently lives in Shaheen Bagh with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana are protesting against the three farm laws passed by Parliament in September. They have been camping in and around Delhi demanding that the laws should be taken back by the Centre.

The Centre has invited representatives of farmer groups for the next round of talks today. The talks were initially scheduled for Thursday but they got preponed after Union agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union home minister Amit Shah met twice on Monday to discuss the issues.

Farmers are protesting against the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.