Day after revenue employees held captive in Lambi, staff go on strike across Punjab

Lambi/Muktsar, March 29

A day after a large number of farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan held naib tehsildar, a few patwaris and other officials captive inside the Lambi sub-tehsil office for nearly eight hours, officers and clerical staff of the Revenue Department today started an indefinite strike across the state.

Revenue Department officers and officials even lodged a protest at the District Administrative Complex (DAC) here today, blaming Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan and the SSP for the delay in freeing the staff.

Notably, farmers were staging a protest outside the sub-tehsil on Monday but barged into the office in the evening. The protesters refused to allow the officials to move out and raised slogans against the DC and other revenue officials. The police pushed away the protesting farmers at night and reportedly used mild cane charge too.

Acting on the complaint of naib tehildar Arjinder Singh, the Lambi police in the wee hours on Tuesday booked nearly 150 unidentified persons under various Sections of the IPC. They are, however, yet to be arrested.

Further, on Tuesday morning, BKU Ekta Ugrahan activists again started a protest outside the sub-tehsil office. The DC said: “Of the total 6,400 affected farmers, just 2,600 have given their bank account numbers.” On the call of the Punjab Revenue Officer Association, Fatehgarh Sahib unit of the Revenue Officers’ Association also went on an indefinite strike.

BKU condemns police action

• The state leadership of BKU Ekta Ugrahan on Tuesday condemned the police action on protesting farmers, which left seven of them injured at Lambi on Monday midnight
• BKU Ekta Ugrahan state general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said: “Our union on Tuesday lodged protests in a number of districts against the high-handedness of the police. The AAP government too is suppressing the voice of commoners, like the previous governments.”

Many not covered

A number of villages haven’t been covered while assessing the damage of the cotton crop. We were hopeful that the new government would do justice. — Gurpash Singh, farmer leader