Insurance firm auctions off farmer’s tractor, BKU protests

Tribune News Service

Karnal, April 22

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) protested outside the office of a private insurance company here on Monday over the auctioning of a farmer’s tractor. They closed the main door of the office and did not allow anyone to come out and go inside the premises.

The BKU claimed farmer Kulwant Singh’s family defaulted on only one instalment for December, but the insurance company took away the tractor without intimation and later auctioned it off.

Kulwant’s son Gurvinder Singh of Shekupura Manchuri village said his father had taken a loan of Rs4 lakh from a private insurance company. “We could not deposit the instalments after my father’s death on October 16, 2018. Before that, we were regularly depositing the instalments,” he said.

Mohitab Kadyan, a BKU leader, alleged a company official misbehaved with them and did not give them a patient hearing when they came here to talk with them on Monday.

“It was a step taken by the company in haste without adopting proper procedure,” he said.

Insurance company officials refused to talk with the media. Later, on the intervention of the police, farmers lifted the dharna. A meeting will be held on Tuesday between the police, company officials and farmers.