NEW DELHI—Six days after it detained hundreds of farmers participating in the grand tractor rally taken out in Delhi on January 26 in protest against three contentious farm laws of BJP-led Union Government of India, Delhi Police today disclosed the list of those arrested under the sections of sedition and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). There are as many as 120 names on the list.
The arrested protesters who came from various districts of Punjab, Haryana, and other states, are named in the FIRs registered at Mukherjee Nagar, Nangloi, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh, Seemapuri, Baba Haridas Nagar, Paschim Vihar West, Ali Pur Outer north and Mundka Outer District. So far, 38 FIRs have been registered in connection with the rally.
Hundreds of the protesters, who were taking part in the rally, suddenly went missing. As they did not return home and contact could not be established with them over the phone, their kin was deeply worried over their fate. The Police did not disclose the names of those arrested for six days thereby increasing the worries of the kin. Considering the matter very serious, pro-people lawyers of Punjab initiated a search of those missing and traced a total of 70 protesters as arrested. The Punjab Lawyers Organization found out 40 protesters, while the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) traced 33 persons arrested by the Police.
The lawyers said some protesters were still missing and said to be in the custody of the Police. They said by not informing the kin of the arrested persons, the Police had violated the ruling of the Supreme Court, and keeping anyone in illegal detention is a clear cut violation of the laws.
The Police have alleged that the arrested persons had incited violence and hoisted ‘Nishan Sahib’ (Khalsa flag) at the empty pole at Red Fort in Delhi. The Police claimed that the violence injured hundreds of the personnel, while no action was taken against any of the cops for the death of a Uttrakhand Sikh protester named Navreet Singh. A hole on the chin of the deceased reveals that he was shot by cops. However, the postmortem report on which doubts are being expressed, claims that he died of an accident.
The lawyers said the sections like sedition and UAPA in the FIRs do not stand against the protesters but the Police have ruined their future by slapping these charges.
List of arrested youth is available here: KISAN_ANDOLAN_ARRESTED_PERSON
