‘We are fed up now’: In a first, Punjab’s Barnala witnesses farmers vs traders conflict

The traders announced the bandh against the farmer unions’ protests over a case related to the immigration of a 27-year-old man from Shehna village in Barnala in September 2023.

“About seven months ago, Sheffy Mittal was sent to England by English Academy, an immigration company in Barnala. They charged Rs 22.5 lakh and provided an offer letter from a company where he was to work for five years. But the company was non-existent and the family had to send an additional Rs 10 lakh to the boy to meet his expenses. The family, along with the farmer unions, has been raising this matter and demanding the money be returned but the immigration company is refusing to comply,” Jagsir Singh Shehna, block president of Bharatiya Kisan Union Dakaunda (Burjgill), which is leading the protests, said.

Barnala bandh on Wednesday. (Express Photo)

“Last month, the owner of the immigration company agreed to give the money back and gave a cheque worth Rs 8.75 lakh as well. He promised to give Rs 17 lakh back in two instalments. However, that cheque bounced and no further money was given…the immigration company backtracked from their written agreement,” Darshan Singh Ugoke, Barnala district president of BKU Dakaunda (Burjgill), said. “Now, if they are doing Barnala bandh, let them…We are not afraid of them. Their business is dependent on farmers only so they will suffer, not we,” Ugoke added.

Ugoke also dismissed speculation that it was a ‘Hindus versus Sikhs’ issue. “First of all, the immigration company committed fraud with Sheffy Mittal and his family. Now, they are playing the victim card. We have told them to bring Sheffy back but they are not even doing that. It is not a case of ‘Hindus versus Sikhs’ as we are supporting a Hindu family as they have been cheated by the company,” he added.

‘Enough is enough’

The immigration company is owned by Himang Bansal and his father Sanjeev Bansal runs Bansal Tyres.

“I had sent him legally. He never went to the company where I had sent him but kept on roaming other parts of England. Afterwards, his family started complaining of no job ..but he never went to that company in the first place. Still, we offered to help them out but their demand is only to extort money out of us,” Himang claimed.

Himang said that Sheffy can legally stay in England till 2028. “So, why are they harassing us? His parents never come for talks directly, farmer union leaders do. Why is the family hiding? How much can we tolerate now? Enough is enough,” Himang added.

With protests over the issue escalating, on Sunday, a clash broke out among farmer union members and traders who had gathered outside Bansal Tyres. The farmer union members allegedly assaulted a few traders with sticks.

“The farmers had been staging a dharna outside the office of the immigration company. Later, they started sitting outside Bansal Tyres too. They did not allow them to go inside their offices for days and even disconnected the electricity connection of Bansal Tyres. This is completely illegal,” Anil said.

“Why are farmer unions trying to run a parallel government? Both parties have given their applications to the police so let the law take its course. This is no way to threaten a trader…the Bansals have even been threatened that union members will start a dharna outside their house as well,” Anil added.

Refund issue

According to sources, a resolution in the matter was delayed over the issue of a refund. The farmer union members want the immigration company to return the entire Rs 22.5 lakh but the company allegedly only wants to return a part of it. Sheffy’s father Makhan reportedly pointed out that the company whose offer letter was provided by the immigration company to Sheffy before he left India was found to be blacklisted in England. Sources said the company had offered to help Sheffy get a job in some other company and had even offered legal assistance. But no consensus was reached over the refunds.

“During the agitation against the farm laws, we had supported the farmers morally and financially though we suffered in our business but this particular dharna is not justified and we cannot tolerate such dharnas anymore…someone has to raise a voice,” Anil said.

“They are deviating from farming issues and are getting personal…however, not all farmer unions are like this. There are a select few who are defaming farmer unions on the whole. They need to understand that farmers and traders go hand in hand and such dharnas should be avoided,” he added.

Traders also pointed out that chakka jams and rail rokos by farmers now and then hurt their business. Earlier in Ludhiana, the All Industries and Trade Forum had said that farmers’ protests at Shambhu and Khanauri borders were affecting their business and had announced it would stop supporting farmer unions morally and financially in the future.

The police said that they are trying to resolve the issue by talking to both sides. “We are trying to ensure the rights of both parties in a peaceful manner. We are hopeful that things will not escalate further,” Barnala Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Malik told The Indian Express.