Ensure safety of protesting farmers, stop propaganda against Sikhs: Plea in SC

Image Courtesy:livelaw.in

A petition has been filed in the top court seeking directions to the authorities to ensure safety and protection of the farmers, protesting at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders and also ensure the supply of basic amenities, according to LiveLaw.

The plea has been filed by Advocates Sanpreet Singh Ajmani and Pushpinder Singh through Advocate Manju Jaitley. They also sought an independent probe into the tragic death of a young boy Navneet Singh, during the tractor parade on January 26. He had allegedly sustained a gunshot injury. However, the post mortem report states “shock and hemorrhage as a result of ant mortem head injury” as the cause of death.

According to LiveLaw, the petitioners have stated that the incidents that took place on Republic Day appear to be “highly motivated” and a pre-planned attempt to throttle the voices of the poor farmers who have been agitating against the farm laws.

On the issue of false propaganda against the Sikh community, the petitioners have submitted that they are aggrieved by the false narrative and hate filled news that is being published by some of the news channels like AajTak, Republic Bharat, ABP news etc. and social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc.

Further, they have appealed to the media to restrict themselves from spreading hate news against the entire community and have urged them to tender an unconditional apology for hurting their religious sentiments, terming them as “terrorists” and denoting their Nishaan Sahib as a “Khalistani Flag”.

Expressing their concerns over internet shutdowns, the petitioners have contended that this is a gross violation of their fundamental rights. As per LiveLaw reports, the petitioners have submitted that the protest sites have been heavily surrounded and guarded by police barricades, entry has been completely blocked, police officials are digging roads and there is heavy deployment of para military forces adding to the tension. They have also complained about the media being restricted at protest sites.

Yesterday, on February 2, the Delhi High Court refused to entertain a plea seeking the release of over 200 “illegally detained” farmers in connection with the violence that unfolded on Republic Day. However, the court directed the Police to conduct proper and time bound investigation into the matter.