Tribune News Service
Panchkula, April 5
The Panchkula police have booked four identified and around 30 unidentified farmers, who waved black flags at the convoy of Haryana Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta and blocked its path at the Chandimandir toll plaza on Sunday, on various charges, including rioting and obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions.
'Protest will continue'
Farmers said the government couldn't suppress their voices. They said the protest would continue until the contentious farm laws were repealed. Karam Singh, Pinjore block president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni), who is among those named in the FIR, said they were exercising their constitutional right to protest, not rioting. "We (farmers) didn't cause hurt to anyone during our protest. We are being falsely implicated," he said, adding that he was yet to be contacted by the police for investigation.
The FIR was lodged post-midnight under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC at the Chandimandir police station on the complaint of a policeman, Parveen Kumar.
Four protesters identified
Four protesters, who have been named in the FIR, are Karam Singh of Bhima Devi Colony, Pinjore; Dushyant of Amravati; Gurmukh Singh of Manakpur; and Baba Leela Ram of Khera.
The FIR alleged that the accused blocked the convoy of Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, damaged the bonnet of vehicles, engaged in scuffle with the police, obstructed public servants from discharging their duty and violated Covid rules.
No arrests yet, claim police
The police are yet to make any arrest in the case. When contacted, Chandimandir Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Deepak Kumar said he was in a meeting and would respond later. Before he hung up the call, SHO Deepak Kumar said: "No arrest has been made yet in this regard."
"We were deployed at the Chandimandir toll plaza to maintain law and order there in view of the BJP workers' meet in Pinjore. The policemen told the farmers that they can hold their protest against the farm laws peacefully by following Covid appropriate behaviour. Despite our instructions, the accused blocked the convoy of Gupta while it was passing through the toll plaza and damaged the bonnet of vehicles. When the policemen tried to stop them, the accused engaged in scuffle with them," the FIR says, quoting complainant.
The case
Scores of protesters, who have been protesting at the Chandimandir toll plaza on the Zirakpur-Shimla highway since November 26 last year, blocked the convoy of Gupta and waved black flags at it on Sunday noon. Gupta and other BJP leaders were passing through the toll plaza to reach Pinjore for a party programme. However, Gupta on Sunday denied any such development, saying his vehicle reached the venue without any hassle.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3cQ8nuA
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