RUDRAPUR: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (
SKM
) has condemned the “brutal police repression” and the death of 23-year-old farmer Shubhakaran Singh from Ballo village in Bathinda district, Punjab. The incident occurred as farmers from the Terai region headed to the
Punjab border
for a meeting on Thursday.
Singh died due to a head injury sustained while advancing towards Delhi.
Farmer leaders allege that a bullet fired by security forces struck the 20-year-old farmer, leading to his death. The deceased farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, owned only three acres of land and had gone to Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border to participate in the ongoing
farmers' protest
. Reports indicate that at least fifteen others sustained severe injuries in the clash.
The SKM places the blame squarely on Prime Minister Modi and the Centre, accusing them of failing to honour the agreement inked with the farmers on December 9, 2021. The farmers were demanding the implementation of promises made by the PM.
Jagtar Singh Bajwa, SKM's spokesperson from Bazpur in Udham Singh Nagar district, expressed concern over the situation on the Punjab border. He said the National Coordination Committee and General Assembly meeting, scheduled for Thursday, would assess the developments and determine decisive actions to escalate the ongoing struggle.
According to Bajwa, Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital's medical superintendent H S Rekhi reported that three people, one of them dead, were brought to the hospital from the Khanauri border point. Singh had an injury to his head while the condition of the other two is stable.
Bajwa remarked, "This is a brutal attack on the very livelihoods of farmer families who were peacefully protesting for the fulfillment of written promises by the Prime Minister. The government's failure to implement the December 2021 agreement is solely responsible for the current crisis. Hundreds of farmers from the Terai region will be attending the meeting, and the strategy for the protest will be discussed."
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