After the Bathinda district police registered five FIRs against over 2,000 farmers for allegedly taking a DSP and others hostage, breaking police barricades, disturbing law and order, and blocking the national highway, leading to traffic jams at various locations in the district during their protest on Friday, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said today that the ongoing agitation seeking the release of their two activists Baldev Singh Chauke and Shagnandeep Singh Jeond had been suspended till February 14 to give the state government more time.
Ugrahan said the administration and police had now sought an application to initiate the process for their release, which the union had already submitted.
He further warned that if the two activists were not released by February 14, the Union would hold an urgent meeting the same day and announce its next course of action. He also condemned the registration of five FIRs in Bathinda district against farmers on Friday, termed them false, and demanded their immediate cancellation.
Notably, both Baldev and Shagandeep have been lodged in Bathinda jail since April 5 last year. They were arrested following a protest at Jeond village in Bathinda district on January 20 last year, which turned violent during land demarcation and consolidation proceedings being carried out as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. During the incident, a DSP and other police personnel were injured after a mob allegedly held a Revenue Department team hostage. However, farmers claimed that apart from the land dispute, they were also demanding the reinstatement of teachers at an Adarsh School in neighbouring Chauke village at the time.
The matter is listed for hearing in the High Court on February 18, as the two activists have again applied for regular bail. Their earlier bail pleas were dismissed by the courts 2K unidentified farmers booked over