Updated: December 18, 2020 7:54:51 am
The notices of Rs 50 lakh each were sent to six leaders in Sambhal, mainly officials from the Bhartiya Kisan (Asli) Union.
Days after UP’s subdivisional magistrate in Sambhal sent out notices calling on agricultural leaders to present personal bonds of Rs 50 lakh each to prevent them from “inciting” farmers to join the protests against the Center’s new laws, Police said Thursday that the amount was “a clerical error” and will be reduced. But the leaders said the ad itself is a means to “strangle the democratic protest.”
The notices for Rs 50 lakh each were sent to six leaders in Sambhal, mainly officials from the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Asli).
Six other similar notices were sent seeking bonds of Rs 5 lakh each. They were issued on December 12 and 13 under section 111 of the CrPC, which authorizes the magistrate to send a notice of proof of cause on bail.
“I have spoken with the SDM and there will be new notices after the error,” Sambhal SP Chakresh Mishra told The Indian Express. “The SDM is currently on leave and once he returns, we will seek to issue a 50,000 rupee bond as the previous one was a clerical error,” said Arun Kumar Singh, Sambhal circle officer.
But farm leaders said they “would rather be in jail than give in to these tactics.”
“They settled on a random number as long as it could discourage us from protesting. It is a non-violent protest. Why is the administration so afraid of farmers protesting? They have mentioned 50 lakh rupees as if we were terrorists. They know we don’t have that amount of money, ”said Rajpal Singh Yadav, district president of BKU (Asli), who is among the six who have been served notices requesting 50 lakh rupees in personal bail.
Agricultural leaders, mainly from the Chandausi and Singhpur areas, have been calling for protests since November 26. On the first day of the protest, nearly 400 people had gathered in a chowk in Sambhal. Since then, the leaders said, the police have made several attempts to ensure that the protests do not take place.
“Before the warnings, the police have been making rounds in our villages to keep a record of our movements. Whenever we called a gherao or a demonstration, the police would come to our houses to arrest us. We managed to go to Delhi on November 28, for one day. Sometimes we leave our house before the police arrive and even sleep in the field to wake up and protest the next day, ”said Sanjeev Gandhi from BKU (Asli), who was also given the notice.
According to the leaders, some farmers were also taken into preventive custody for a day before a protest.
“Protests are taking place across the country, but nowhere will you hear that the administration is threatening them with 50 lakh rupees. This is pure harassment, ”said Rajveer Singh of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh, who was served with the notice.
The advisory issued by Sambhal SDM Deependra Yadav read: “In the context of what is happening in Delhi and other farmer upheavals, six people go from village to village and incite farmers with false information, which can lead to breakdown of peace in the region. We are satisfied with the report of the local police station in this regard. It is hereby ordered to provide a reason why farmers should not provide a guarantee of value of Rs 50 lakh and a surety of the same money to keep the peace for one year. “
Yadav did not respond to calls from The Indian Express seeking comment. “The notices are part of the procedure and have been sent to only a handful of people who have been actively participating in the protests. A report was sent to the administration citing these individuals and it is procedural to request a large amount to dissuade them from undertaking any activity that would disturb the peace in the region. We have no problem with peaceful protests, ”said Kumar, an official of the circle.
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