Week after farmer’s death, no FIR or inquest. Punjab & Haryana police look the other way

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Week after farmer’s death, no FIR or inquest. Punjab & Haryana police look the other way

Chandigarh:  A week after a 22-year-old farmer was allegedly killed during police action against agitating farmers on the Punjab and Haryana border, his body has been lying in a mortuary, with police in either state yet to lodge any FIR or start their investigation. 

Haryana Police say that since the farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, died within the borders of the state, action can only be taken by them. Sources in the Punjab Police admit that it’s true, but the farmer’s family continues to demand action from them.    

Shubhkaran, a Bathinda resident, was killed during a clash between the Haryana Police and agitating farmers on the Punjab-Haryana border at Khanauri on 21 February. As video footage of his dead body showing a deep wound in the back of his head went viral, farmer bodies alleged that he was hit when the Haryana Police fired at the protesters.

Farmers have been gathered at Khanauri and Shambhu in Punjab since 13 February as part of the “Dilli Chalo” call to press for their demands. Haryana Police have made unprecedented arrangements to stop farmers from moving to Delhi and have been liberally using rubber bullets and tear gas shells to contain the movement of the agitators. 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in an address on the evening of Shubhkaran’s death, promised the “strictest possible action” against those responsible. 

“After the postmortem, we will lodge an FIR and investigate thoroughly. Whichever officer, or those responsible for Shubhkaran’s death, will face the strictest possible action,” said the CM.

But even after a week, Shubhkaran’s body is lying in the mortuary of the government Rajindra Hospital and Medical College at Patiala, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, who leads the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, told PTI Tuesday. 

The organisation is one of the two farmer bodies leading the ongoing agitation. Pandher added: “A postmortem has not been done and no legal proceedings have been undertaken by the Punjab Police”.

According to the Haryana Police, Shubhkaran died in Haryana’s territory and not in Punjab, and as a result, further action in the case can only be initiated by them. Highly placed sources in the Punjab Police admit that this is true and is the prime reason the department can take no action in this case.

Suresh Kumar, the station house officer of Garhi police station in Jind, said that Shubhkaran along with several other farmers were at least 500 meters into Haryana’s territory in the wheat fields when the incident took place. The police station is close to Haryana’s border with Punjab.

“On the same day, we went to the hospital to note the statement of the deceased’s family but the Punjab Police did not allow us to function,” Kumar said.

In the absence of any statement or complaint, the Haryana Police haven’t registered any FIR or inquest proceedings in the case so far, added Kumar.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Police remain tight-lipped about the situation. A senior Punjab Police officer told ThePrint that the police had carried their own exercise to confirm Haryana’s claim regarding jurisdiction and found that the incident had indeed taken place in Haryana’s territory.

“In the absence of any legal proceedings, the team of doctors at the medical college cannot conduct a postmortem, without which the body cannot be cremated,” the officer said.

Sources also added that the Punjab Police were even considering the possibility of registering a zero FIR — that is, an FIR that’s registered when the place of occurrence is not known. 

“In this case, the place of occurrence is known and any action by the Punjab Police will be immediately challenged on legal grounds by Haryana, which will lead to further embarrassment. We have reached a deadlock with Haryana over this and the matter can now only be resolved after the two states reach a mutually acceptable solution,” the officer said.

Also Read: BJP’s Jat-Sikh outreach in trouble as farmers protest again, RLD to Akalis facing heat

‘Fixed match, ‘tout of the Centre’ — Opposition tries to corner Mann 

In his address on the day of Shubhkaran’s death, Punjab CM Mann alleged that the tear gas shells and the rubber bullets were “coming into Punjab’s jurisdiction”.

“Our farmers are only on the Punjab side. Haryana has barricaded its borders,” the CM had said in his address.

Ever since the incident, Mann has been drawing flak over the issue, with Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa Monday lashing out at the CM for his “deafening silence”.

“Punjab CM @BhagwantMann’s deafening silence on taking action against Haryana Police speaks volumes about his undisclosed allegiance the to BJP. It has been five days since young farmer Shubhkaran was murdered cold-bloodedly by the Haryana Police at the Khanauri border, the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, has not registered an FIR against the Haryana Police and Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij,” Congress leader Bajwa wrote on X, adding that Mann “must explain what was stopping him from lodging an FIR against Haryana Police”.

The farmer leaders leading the agitation, too, have trained their guns at the chief minister. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha chief Pandher told PTI Tuesday that it seemed that the Punjab chief minister was playing a “fixed match” with the Centre.

“Shubhakaran’s body is lying in the mortuary of the hospital for so many days.. the deadlock has been created by the Punjab government,” he said. “In Shubhkaran’s case, the FIR promised has not been lodged. This only means that the Punjab government is playing a fixed match in collaboration with the Centre.”

What was the legal impediment that the Punjab government was facing that it was unable to lodge an FIR, he asked. 

“We are in touch with several lawyers and there is also a Supreme Court judgment that says that in order to lodge a first information report, nothing is required. An investigation comes later. The dual face of the Aam Aadmi Party is getting exposed,” Pandher said. 

The chief minister Saturday announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore to Shubhkaran’s family and an offer of a government job to his sister. Shubhkaran’s family members, however, rejected the offer saying that they would wait for the government to first register a case and get justice for Shubhkaran.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia referred to Mann as a “tout” of the Centre. “It took the chief minister over six hours to even acknowledge that Shubhkaran had died. Then he announced that first his postmortem would take place and then an FIR would be lodged. The doctors here are saying that first an FIR needs to be lodged and then the postmortem will take place. Can the CM tell us why an FIR is not being lodged?” Majithia asked while addressing the press outside Patiala’s Rajindra Hospital Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Congress held a demonstration outside the office of the Sangrur senior superintendent of police Sunday demanding the registration of an FIR.

“Staged a dharna outside the office of SSP @SangrurPolice demanding registration of FIR against Haryana Home Minister @anilvijminister, SSP Jind & others responsible for the brutal murder of Shubhkaran and for causing injuries & loss of property of our farmers. Inaction of @AAPPunjab govt is deplorable,” tweeted state Congress head Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

Hooda raises issue in Haryana assembly

The issue is gathering steam in Haryana as well, with Haryana’s Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda raising the issue in the assembly as well. Speaking during an adjournment motion brought by the Congress on the killing of the state INLD president Nafe Singh Rathee, Hooda said Monday that a farmer had died but his postmortem had not been done so far. 

“Punjab says the farmer died in their jurisdiction while the SP in Haryana says it’s in his jurisdiction. What is happening? What is the jurisdiction issue? Where is law and order heading?” Hooda asked, expressing his displeasure over the police’s handling of the case. 

“Why are the police so lazy that they’re talking about jurisdiction four days after the farmer’s death?” Hooda asked. 

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

Also Read:  Swift action, measured words — how BJP govt’s response to farmers’ protest has changed since 2020

 

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