Tikri deaths Farmers call it move to derail stir | Want adequate relief for kinUnions allege foul play, seek judicial probe

Tribune News Service

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Mansa, October 28

Alleging foul play, family members of three women protesters, who died after being mowed down by a truck near the Tikri border, and several farm unions have demanded an independent probe into the incident by a committee of sitting judges of the Supreme Court.

To mourn the loss of lives, members of the Punjab Kisan Union, Sanvidhan Bachao Manch and Medical Practitioners’ Association met the family members of the deceased at Khiva Dialuwala village in Mansa district and paid condolences. Claiming that all women belonged to marginal groups who had debts running in lakhs of rupees, the representatives of these organisations demanded adequate compensation to them.

Gurlabh Singh Mahal, leader of the Sanvidhan Bachao Manch, said, “The case requires intervention of the apex court. After constituting a committee of sitting judges, the Supreme Court must conduct an independent probe.”

Balkaran Singh Balli, leader of the Punjab Kisan Union, said, “There is possibility of foul play in the incident at a time when forces are trying to destabilise and sabotage the farmers’ agitation. And as per the statement of an injured woman, the truck that mowed down the women had only started from nearby. The women who got injured must also be compensated by the government adequately.”