Taking note of police excesses on the agitating farmers in Haryana and the fact that a large number of them affiliated to the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) are being slapped with sedition charges under Section 124-A of the IPC, the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) has demanded their immediate release, institution of inquiries into the incidents and compensation to the affected.Pointing an accusing finger at the Om Prakash Chautala government for its harsh handling of the farmers’ agitation, the civil rights group has said in its interim report that registration of criminal cases and arrests had been the most significant form of suppression of farmers to weaken the movement against the state government.The report has taken exception that almost 50 to 70 farmers in Haryana have been charged with sedition and 11 of them are already in jail. Almost 30 people charged with sedition come from Jind district, 22 from Kaithal and 17 from Fatehabad. The PUDR fact-finding team cited instances of torture of people in police custody, including aged farmers.The PUDR felt that the Haryana government was not justified in using Section 124-A, which deals with sedition, with attempts to overthrow the state, against the farmers.The group found it rather curious that the farmers in Haryana were up in arms against the Indian Republic and police and state administration had to resort to mass arrests, firing and third-degree methods.BKU chief Ghasi Ram Nain has been under detention for months now. Each time he led the farmers to struggle, the government put new charges on him. PUDR noted with concern that Nain has 128 cases instituted against him since 1992. Extremely serious charges like sedition and attempt to murder were slapped on him even as he negotiated with the Haryana government, meeting chief ministers and signing agreements with high-powered government bodies, the PUDR report said.The report also took note that since the arrest of Nain, every acting BKU chief has been targeted as soon as he assumed office to weaken the organisation. First, acting chief Fateh Singh was charged under Section 124-A of the IPC (sedition) and arrested. His successor Palaram Goud too was arrested on similar charges. When the BKU named Joginder Singh Mor as the new acting chief, he too was served similar charges. So far Mor has evaded arrest.The PUDR has demanded that inquiries be instituted into police firings and those responsible booked. All those injured in police firings must be adequately compensated. Charges of sedition be dropped against the agitating farmers forthwith. People suffering detention under Section 124-A must be released immediately and compensated adequately. The PUDR has also demanded that police officials involved in such incidents be taken to task.
