BKU Ugrahan hit streets at 48 locations in Punjab after police allegedly take away body of Mansa youth
BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) is holding protests outside police stations across Punjab, accusing police of forcibly removing the body of Daljit Singh of Bhamme Kalan. His body is now at AIIMS Bathinda
Mansa/Barnala: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), among the biggest farmer bodies in Punjab, has begun a statewide agitation outside police stations, accusing the police of forcibly taking away the body of a Mansa youth, Daljit Singh, before his family could lay him to rest on their own terms.
BKU leader Shingara Singh said demonstrations are being held at 48 locations across the state and that a group of protesters was already leaving Barnala to join the agitation.
What happened
Daljit Singh, a resident of Bhamme Kalan village in Sardulgarh, died in circumstances that remain unclear. On Tuesday, his family and supporters were trying to carry the body to the protest site near the Mansa Deputy Commissioner’s residence, where a separate agitation is already underway over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota. The family alleges that the police intercepted them and took the body away. It is now lying at AIIMS Bathinda.
According to protesters, the dharnas will run from 11.30 am to 4 pm on Wednesday. They are demanding that the body be returned to the family immediately. “It is the family’s right to decide when and how to cremate him. What business does the police have in this?” asked the protesters.
They appealed to farmers and union members to drop their other work and turn up at the protest sites, saying the union would mobilise supporters statewide against what it called police high-handedness.
Mansa remains tense
The union has also said a large group of its members will march to Mansa to back the ongoing sit-in by Jhota’s family and supporters.
Tension has been building in the district. Daljit Singh’s family has claimed that he died of a drug overdose and alleged that narcotics are freely available in Mansa. They have insisted that their right to decide the last rites be respected.
With BKU Ugrahan now bringing its cadre into the fray, the agitation is expected to widen, putting fresh pressure on the police and the administration.
Also Read | Punjab Police high-handedness: Tensions engulfs Mansa as police seize body of man allegedly died due to drug overdose| LIVE UPDATES