Jalandhar: For the family of Pritpal Singh, February 24 was a day of respite as their only son was finally shifted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) Chandigarh from the restricted environment of PGI Rohtak, Haryana where he was admitted for multiple fractures in his leg, nose and jaw and severe injuries on his body.
Pritpal, a resident of Nawangaon village of Moonak sub-division, Sangrur district, was reportedly picked up by the Haryana Police on February 21 from Khanauri border, on the Punjab side. He was allegedly put in a gunny bag and beaten mercilessly when he serving langar. Incidentally, Sangrur is the home turf of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
It was only when he was being taken to a hospital in an ambulance that Pritpal managed to call his parents and in broken sentences tell them what had happened.
Lakhvir Kaur, Pritpal’s mother who was at PGI Chandigarh for her son’s surgery, told The Wire that on February 21, Pritpal was at Khanauri border inside Punjabi territory, when suddenly the Haryana Police started throwing tear gas shells at the farmers.
“In that chaos, when tear gas shells fell and farmers started running to save themselves, the Haryana Police crossed the Khanauri border and picked up my son. They put him in a sack and beat up mercilessly with sticks and rods till he became unconscious. Somehow, the almighty saved him,” she said.
When asked how they found out about what happened, Lakhvir said that Pritpal used to carry two mobile phones. While one was snatched by the Haryana Police, the second somehow remained in one of his pockets. “After beating my son, they had thrown him in the fields but later when they saw his condition, they took him to a private hospital in Narwana, Haryana. When Pritpal was being taken to the hospital in the ambulance at around 1:30 pm, he called up and informed us that he had been taken to Narwana in Jind district,” she said.
Sobbing, she said, “The moment we learnt about Pritpal’s condition, we informed some of our relatives in Haryana. They managed to chase the ambulance, which initially took him to a hospital in Narwana. We also immediately rushed from Sangrur. But seeing his condition, the doctors referred my son to PGI Rohtak, where he remained for three days. My son went through hell during this period.”
Lakhvir said that at PGI Rohtak, the Haryana Police and some men in civil clothes tracked them 24×7. “At PGI Rohtak, Haryana Police were deployed outside my son’s room. Whenever we would talk or attend to any phone call, the men in civil dress used to follow us. They kept tracking us throughout the day and night. Even if we used to go out to take a call, they used to follow us and would try to listen to our conversation. They even threatened us against talking to the media. We felt helpless and wanted to reach Punjab as soon as possible,” she said.
“There was an atmosphere of fear. We felt unsafe and disturbed at PGI Rohtak. Whenever my son regained consciousness, he would plead us to take him to Punjab. The Haryana Police took Pritpal to PGI Rohtak so that we could not be there. Had senior farmers’ union leader Baldev Singh Sirsa not helped us, we would have been ruined. He remained in touch with us and expedited Pritpal’s return to Punjab,” Lakhvir said.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha coordinator Sarvan Singh Pandher and senior farmer union leader Baldev Singh Sirsa along with Pritpal Singh’s parents at PGI Chandigarh on Sunday. Photo: Special arrangement
The doctors conducted Pritpal’s surgery on Sunday. It started at around noon and went on till 6 pm.
Pritpal’s return to Punjab became possible only when farmers’ unions brought the matter to the notice of the Mann government. It was then that the Punjab chief secretary, Anurag Verma, shot off a letter to Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal requesting him to send Pritpal Singh back for treatment.
In fact, many farmers who witnessed the chaos of February 21 had been claiming that it was men in civil clothes who picked up some youth from the Khanauri border, took them to Haryana and beat them mercilessly. They also said that it was the Haryana Police which shielded these men in civil clothes while they ransacked everything, abused farmers and beat them with batons.
However, to counter these charges, the Haryana Police on February 24 shared a map with the media and came along with a team of revenue officials to claim that the February 21 operation against the farmers was within their own jurisdiction.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Narwana Amit Kumar Bhatia, who addressed the media earlier, was not available for comments.
As per a report in the Times of India, a top official also said, “We have a right on the land towards Punjab on 1965 feet (600 meters) from the point of our barricades at Data Singhwala village. The farmers occupy 12 more acres of our territory along Punjab, which we have reported to the Punjab authorities.”
An amritdhari (baptised) Sikh, Pritpal Singh was part of the Delhi Chalo protest which is being led by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (nonpolitical) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) led by Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarvan Singh Pandher.
The farmers had given a call for the Delhi Chalo morcha on February 13. Since the Haryana police sealed the borders leading to Delhi, the farmers have been camping at Punjab-Haryana’s Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
Punjab BJP mum but Amarinder terms Haryana’s actions ‘barbaric’
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who is now with the BJP, came down heavily on the Haryana Police and termed its actions against the farmers ‘barbaric’.
He wrote, “I strongly condemn the barbaric act of violence committed by the Haryana Police on our young farmer Pritpal Singh. I urge Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to take strict action against the policemen who are guilty of badly beating up an unarmed youngster who was just serving langar to people.”
Even BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar expressed condolences over the tragic death of 22-year-old Shubhkaran Singh and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter. “I demand the strictest action against those responsible to prevent the recurrence of such a mishap, because there are thousands of our Shubhkarans at protest sites even today. Both sides must remember, every life matters,” he said.
The rest of the BJP Punjab leadership is maintaining a silence over the farmers’ protest considering the Lok Sabha elections, which are just around the corner. Last time during the farmers’ protest in 2020-2021, BJP leaders in Punjab had to face widespread protests, wiping out their political ground in the state.
Interestingly, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which had snapped ties with its ally the BJP during the previous farmers’ protest, is shying away from directly naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi in any of its statements. SAD is squarely blaming chief minister Bhagwant Mann for the attacks on farmers.
Notably, SAD and the BJP were planning an alliance before the general elections 2024, which is stalled as of now. It was only the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Punjab Congress leadership which was questioning the Centre and the Haryana government for attacking the farmers.
Farmers’ union leaders meet Pritpal Singh’s family
A delegation of the KMM led by Sarvan Singh Pandher, Amarjit Singh Mohri, Satnam Singh Sahni and others met Pritpal Singh’s family at PGI Chandigarh on Sunday.
Talking to The Wire, Sarvan Singh Pandher said, “We had already raised this issue in our press conference on February 21 evening that four to five youths were picked up by Haryana Police. Pritpal Singh has been brought to PGI Chandigarh, where he will get the best treatment and recover soon. The other four injured youth are being treated at Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.”
Pandher lashed out at Mann and said that he had assured farmers he would file an FIR against Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, home minister Anil Vij and police under Section 356 IPC but hasn’t done anything so far. “It is apparent that Bhagwant Mann was acting under pressure from the Central government. That is why he has not registered any FIR against the Haryana Police. We demand justice for our youth and protests will continue,” he said.
A delegation of Kirti Kisan Union led by Raminder Singh, a member of SKM, sitting with Pritpal Singh’s mother at PGI Chandigarh on Sunday. Photo: Special arrangement
Earlier, a delegation of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) led by Raminder Singh Patiala, state press secretary of the Kirti Kisan Union also met Pritpal’s family on Sunday. Both KKU and SKM are separately protesting for farmers’ rights.
The union also released a press note in which Raminder Singh termed the attacks on farmers by the the BJP government as ‘fascist design’ and demanded the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and home minister Anil Vij for killing Shubhkaran Singh. They also demanded the registration of a murder case against the trio.
“We demand a judicial probe by a Supreme Court judge. The Union government was hell bent on taking revenge from the Punjab and Haryana farmers for the previous historic protests against the three farm laws. This is the reason why they have converted the Punjab-Haryana border into an international level border crossing,” he said.
