A young farmer, who became one of the enduring images of the farmers’ agitation after he climbed atop a water cannon and changed its direction before jumping onto a tractor-trolley during police action against protesters in Haryana last year, has been named in 14 FIRs, including one where he is changed with attempt to murder.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) President Gurnam Singh Chaduni says he has at least 42 FIRs lodged against him.
The two are not an aberration. Thousands of farmers in Haryana have been booked for several “criminal offences”, ranging from sedition to attempt to murder.
During the course of the year long agitation against the three contentious farm laws – which now stand repealed – that began from Kurukshetra’s Pipli town on September 10, 2020.
Farmer leaders estimate that FIRs have been lodged against 48,000 farmers during the agitation in Haryana. A senior police officer told that around 200 FIRs have been lodged.
An FIR was lodged against “10,000/12,000 unknown persons” in Dabwali police station of Sirsa district on November 27, 2020 when thousands of farmers were moving to Delhi via Haryana.
These farmers were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 427 (causing damage) of the IPC, Epidemic Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
On the same day, under almost similar charges, another FIR was lodged against “thousands of unknown persons” in Fatehabad district.
In the column of accused, in several FIRs, the police mentioned “a lot of unknown crowd”, “innumerable unknown person”, “some unknown person, number not confirm”, “40/50 unknown person, number not confirm and 2/3 unknown girl”, “4 unknown Nihang Sikh”, and “400-500 unknown persons”.
The farmers had announced their “social boycott” :
Most of the cases pertaining to breaking of barricades and confrontation with the police during protests against the leaders of ruling BJP-JJP alliance as the farmers had announced their “social boycott” over the issue of three farm laws.
Since the beginning, the farmers have been insisting that the cases were lodged against them to “suppress” their agitation while the authorities say they took the action as per the law.
A farmer activist Navdeep Singh Jalbera (27), who had shot to limelight for shutting the water cannon in Ambala on November 25, 2020, says: “I believe, the police have lodged 14 FIRs, including 4-5 under the charges of attempt to murder, against me during the agitation. Other charges include blocking of road, threat to an MLA and assault on an SHO. Several cases were lodged against my father Jai Singh Jalbera also. The cases were lodged against my younger brother and uncle too.”
Apart from Jalberas, Chaduni too was booked under attempt to murder charge. The police accused them of attempting to run over policemen with a speeding tractor-trolley by breaking the police barricading.