Maoists link? NIA raids woman farmer leader’s house in Punjab

All the raids were to scuttle attempts of banned CPI( Maoist) to revive its presence, said an official statement of NIA released Saturday evening from New Delhi.

Kaur said that she heard about the raid from her husband. “I am at the Shambhu border but my husband said the NIA team had come with a search warrant related to an FIR lodged in Lucknow in 2023 .” Information revealed that Kaur’s husband Harbhinder Singh Jalal had been booked under UAPA for his alleged Maoist links in May, 2011. He used to edit a revolutionary magazine ‘ Chamkda Lal Tara’ at that time. A case under arms act had also been lodged against him. Information revealed that he was acquitted in UAPA case but is out on bail in arms act case. Sources revealed that Jalal’s name has figured in a case lodged in Lucknow in 2023.

“They searched the entire house. They inspected the phones of all my family members and later took my husband’s phone with them. They did not even allow my daughter-in-law to go to the school where she teaches,” she said, adding that the BJP is on the back foot after the Kangana Ranaut episode and so they are trying to defame farmers in other ways.

Information revealed that the officials took pictures of ATM cards, Aadhar cards, PAN cards of the family members.

In addition to this, they also took some literature of BKU( Krantikari) and the one written by her husband lying at home.

Kaur said that the union will be contacting legal experts on Saturday. She said,” I can’t ignore this visit of NIA at my house. Will be meeting legal experts on Saturday as you never know which charges they can level on you. They are just trying to divert the attention of the masses.”

“They are thinking of a new narrative…but they will fail this time too. We will not bow down to their pressure,” she said.

Ranaut’s statement that “dead bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place” during the 2020-’21 farmers’ agitation had put the BJP in a bind.

Surjit Singh Phul, state president of BKU Krantikari, said that after Kaur informed a few farmers in nearby areas and they staged a dharna outside her house when the NIA team was inside. “This dharna is in protest of raids by the NIA without any prior notice or written information,” he said.

Alleging that the raid was a tactic to intimidate farmer leaders, Phul said, “The NIA had raided the houses of many farmers even during the farm agitation. They come without any warrants and don’t even take the state police along.

They are trying to intimidate us as we are part of the dharna at Shambhu border, which will complete 200 days on Saturday.”

Another union leader, requesting anonymity, said that Kaur was booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC in 2000 for protesting against the Jethuke police firing incident in which two Dalit youngsters were killed. It needs to be mentioned that on January 5, 2022 when protesting farmers had blocked the way of PM’s convoy in Ferozepur..many members of BKU Krantikari were part of it and it was confirmed by Phool at that time. Phool was arrested under UAPA in November, 2009 by Punjab police with allegations that he had deep relations with Maoists but later in January, 2013 he was acquitted in this case.

Meanwhile, farmers lifted their dharna once the NIA team left the area.

Bathinda City SP Narinder Singh said that the NIA sleuths took around six hours to complete their documentation.

“Farmer union members had gathered outside the house and were raising slogans. We had deployed our force to maintain law and order,” he said.

While NIA officials refused to disclose any information regarding the raid, Phul said that they want the NIA to coordinate with the state police whenever they visit Punjab to conduct raids. “Some villagers like the sarpanch must accompany them and they should come with search warrants. Irrespective of ideological differences in farm unions, we all are on the same page on this,” Phul said, adding that farmers expressed their anger towards the AAP government, alleging that it facilitated NIA raids and did not intervene into the matter.

The NIA also reportedly raided the house of an advocate in Sonipat and arrested him. However, Phul said that this case was not connected to farmer unions.