Jalandhar: Nine days after he was killed, the Punjab police finally lodged an FIR – but against unidentified persons – with murder charges under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the death of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh on Wednesday (February 28).
He was cremated at his native village of Balloh in Bathinda district’s Rampura Phull in the presence of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) Non-Political and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) farmer leaders on Thursday.
Amidst loud slogans and a huge cavalcade, Shubhkaran’s body was taken to his native village, where farmers from across Punjab and Haryana paid their last respects to the young farmer.
Heartrending scenes were witnessed at his village, where before bidding adieu, Shubhkaran Singh’s sisters tied a rakhi on his wrist and a sehra on his forehead, a custom performed in Punjab whenever an unmarried youth dies.
KMM leaders had also cancelled all their programs scheduled for today.
Shubhkaran Singh died after he sustained bullet injuries in the back of his neck at the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana on February 21.
The FIR was filed by Charanjeet Singh, Shubhkaran’s father, at the Patran police station in Patiala district.
Farmer leaders Tejveer Singh and Amarjit Singh Mohri laying a flag of their party, the BKU (SBS), on Shubhkaran Singh’s body. Photo: Kusum Arora.
The call for the Delhi Chalo (‘march to Delhi’) morcha or the ‘farmers’ protest 2.0’ was given by senior farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal from the SKM Non-Political and Sarvan Singh Pandher, who is coordinator of the KMM, on February 13.
However, following barricading at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, the farmers’ unions have been camping there till now.
In the FIR, a copy of which is available with The Wire, Charanjeet Singh stated that he along with Shubhkaran and other villagers – namely, Kuldeep Singh and Gurvinder Singh – were in a tractor trolley at Khanauri on February 21 when the Haryana police started throwing tear gas shells at them.
Charanjeet Singh, who owns merely two acres of agricultural land, said that when they went to the nearby fields to save themselves, shelling continued in that area too.
“Seeing farmers rushing everywhere, farmer union leaders instructed us to sit in the tractor trolleys. The moment we started walking, Shubhkaran, who was ahead of me, was hit by a bullet at the back of his head,” he stated in the FIR.
“He fell and was immediately rushed to Khanauri hospital, where after an hour doctors declared him brought dead”, he continued.
Notably, Dallewal and Pandher, the leaders from the SKM Non-Political and KMM respectively, had been demanding an FIR against Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana home minister Anil Vij and the Haryana police.
However, the Punjab police lodged a zero FIR against unknown persons under sections 302 and 114 of the IPC.
Haryana police threatens to cancel passports and visas of protestors
The Haryana police on February 28 hit the headlines when it issued a statement that the passports and visas of protesters who came to Haryana from Punjab and were involved in violence would be cancelled.
Interestingly, the Punjab government neither issued a statement nor commented on this development.
Notably, the Ambala police had issued a similar press note on February 7, too. However, the difference is that while they had earlier announced the cancellation of the passports of protestors, this time they announced the cancellation of their visas as well.
In a video message, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Ambala Joginder Sharma said: “We have identified the protestors involved in violence coming to Haryana from Punjab in the name of the farmers’ protest. We have identified them with CCTV cameras and drone cameras. We will request the ministry and embassy to cancel their visas and passports.”
“Their photos, name and address will be given to the passport office. We are working on cancelling their passports…”
Asked about the provisions under which the passports of protestors can be cancelled, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing on Thursday: “All passport or visa matters are governed by certain rules, laws and guidelines that we have. And if there is any issue that arises on account of that, it will be considered as per those laws, rules and regulations.”
Farmer union leaders said that the Union government was trying to make it a Punjab-versus-Haryana game, as ever since the protest began, the Haryana police have been treating farmers with an iron fist.
Experts and farmer leaders speak
Chandigarh-based senior journalist Manpreet Randhawa, who is presently working with an overseas media house named Connect Radio Canada, said, “Right from the beginning, the Haryana government has been acting on the directions of the … Modi government, whether it was the use of barricades, iron nails on the highway, tear gas shells, drones, rubber pellets or water cannons.”
He added: “This was not required. The Haryana government has no right to stop farmers from moving to Delhi. It is completely uncalled for and undemocratic.”
On the other hand, he said it took nine days for the Punjab police to lodge an FIR and that too on unidentified persons.
“Whether it was their announcement to cancel the passports and visas of protestors or bundling up Pritpal Singh in a gunny bag and beating him badly, the Punjab police was appearing weak. It is completely unacceptable”, Randhawa said.
The senior journalist also expressed anger over the fact that six farmers died, three others lost their eyesight and around 200 farmers were injured, but Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann did not utter a single word against the Union or Haryana governments.
“CM Bhagwant Mann should tell farmers whether he was afraid of the Centre or Haryana or his top boss Arvind Kejriwal, who was finding ground in Haryana for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls?” he questioned.
Notably, as per a report in the Middle East Eye, Haryana CM Khattar’s decision to use drones to fire tear gas at farmers was influenced by his visit to Israel during the 2018 Great March of Return protests.
The Haryana government replicated Israeli police and army tactics in their state and created the Drone Imaging and Information Systems of Haryana (Driishya) for drone mapping.
Talking to The Wire, Tejveer Singh Ambala, a spokesperson for the BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), said there was nothing new in the Ambala police’s statement about seizing the passports of protestors, as they had issued a similar statement on February 7, days before the farmers were to move for the Delhi Chalo morcha on February 13.
Also read: Farmers at Shambhu Border Say, ‘We Now Feel Like Outsiders in Our Own Country’
“In a bid to create fear among farmers and their parents, the Ambala police has once again repeated this statement on February 28. As many youths from Ambala, Panchkula, Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Yamuna Nagar and Kaithal in Haryana were migrating to the US, UK, Canada and Australia, such a statement was clearly meant to discourage them.
“The question is, do they have the power to seize someone’s passport and cancel the visa?” he questioned.
The BKU (SBS) leader also questioned that while the Haryana police was threatening to seize the passports and cancel the visas of protesting farmers coming from Punjab to Haryana, was the Punjab government so helpless that it lodged an FIR in Shubhkaran’s killing against unidentified persons?
“The FIR was lodged nine days after his killing. What does this show? Is the Punjab government giving permission to Haryana police to take coercive actions?” he questioned.
Tejveer also said that the jurisdiction of Haryana on the Ghaggar river bridge begins after 100 feet of distance.
“It is the Haryana police which is sitting on the Ghaggar bridge. They are inside Punjab’s territory. The Haryana government was using face-recognition technology inside Punjab. Does the Punjab government have any mechanism to tackle this?” he said.
On Haryana farmers’ response to the Delhi Chalo morcha, Pardeep Anttal, an independent journalist from Desh Pardesh Khabar Ambala, said that there was an upsurge among farmers and youths to join the farmers’ protest but the Haryana police was not letting them participate.
“By announcing that the passports and visas of the protestors would be cancelled, the Haryana police was simply trying to create fear among people. Recently, the Haryana police had used tear gas shells against farmers in Kheri Chopta in Hisar, when they were moving towards the Khanauri border to join the Delhi Chalo morcha”, he said.
“Even khap panchayats are ready to join. They were just waiting for the final call of the KMM and SKM bodies to move to Delhi. Farmers in Haryana are sensitive to the plight of their brotherhood in Punjab and elsewhere and were committed to stand by them”, he added.
The farmer unions participating the in Delhi Chalo morcha include the BKU (SBS), the BKU (Sir Chotu Ram), the Sanyukt Kisan Mazdoor Inquilab Union and the Akhil Bhartiya Jaat Sangharsh Samiti to name a few.