31 Punjab farmers booked for taking back 'freed' 417 acres

Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 12

A row has erupted over the possession of 417 acres of panchayat land at Chaleri Kalan village, freed recently by the Punjab Government, with the booking of 31 farmers for taking back its possession and ploughing it for cultivation.

Villagers counter Minister’s assertion

• Last month, minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal had announced freeing of 417 acres of panchayat land at Chaleri Kalan, claiming farmers had given it up voluntarily
• Days later, farmers claimed they were coerced into handing over the land to the government, saying they and their ancestors had been cultivating it since 1904
• The farmers took back the possession, claiming the HC had restrained the government from taking over land

Last month, the state government in the presence of Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal had dispossessed the farmers of the land, claiming they had given it up voluntarily. Days later, the farmers had claimed they were coerced into handing over the land to the government, saying they and their ancestors had been cultivating it since 1904.

The 31 farmers have been booked by the district police on the complaint of Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Sirhind. The farmers, however, claimed the Punjab and Haryana High Court had restrained the government from taking possession.

The BDPO, in his complaint, alleged the farmers had again encroached upon the panchayat land. As per the FIR, the BDPO claimed the government had taken possession of 417 acres of panchayat land at Chaleri Kalan, but 31 farmers — Gurpreet Singh, Varinder Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Bakhsish Singh, Jora Singh, Amar Singh, Surinder Singh, Taj Mohamad, Tarsem Singh, Jagjeet Singh, Malkeet Singh, Runga Singh, Karnail Singh, Bhajan Singh, Veer Singh, Satnam Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Balveer Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Ishvar Singh, Jot Singh, Amar Singh, Nachatar Singh, Surjeet Singh, Gaggi, Saroop Singh, Bakhshish Singh, Lakha Singh, Majeet Singh and Jagdeep Singh, all residents of Chaleri Kalan village — had taken back its possession and started cultivation.

The case has been registered under Sections 447 (criminal trespass), 511 (offence punishable with imprisonment) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code at the Mulepur police station.

The minister, by deploying 2,500 police personnel at the village and deputing administrator in place of the panchayat, forcibly took possession of 417 acres last month, claimed villagers.

The BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) formed a committee and opted for legal recourse. The farmers subsequently took back the possession and started ploughing the land.

They claimed the land belonged to them as they had been cultivating it for the past 117 years. The BDPO, Sirhind, had complained to the police in this regard. The farmers said they would fight it out till they get justice.