Families of arrested suspects live in fear
NEW DELHI: Devender Singh, who runs an electrical fittings shop in Nehru Vihar area of north Delhi’s Timarpur, says customers have been avoiding to come to his shop ever since his brother, Satbir, was arrested by the police in connection with the violence during the tractor rally on Republic Day.
“Our business is hit because customers have stopped coming to our shop. Our neighbours hardly speak to us. Even our relatives are not supporting us. They feel my brother’s arrest in the Republic Day violence case has brought shame to our family. They all consider my brother a culprit, even though a court is yet to decide his fate,” says Devender.
Satbir was arrested on February 8 in connection with the violence at Burari when hundreds of farmers clashed with the police after deviating from a preapproved route for a tractor parade, part of the ongoing protest against the three farm laws passed in September.
Police have registered at least 44 cases in connection with the January 26 violence that erupted at the Red Fort, ITO and many other places in the city during the farmers’ tractor rally and the incident of January 29, during which a group of people, claiming to be local residents, reached the protest site at Singhu and clashed with farmers and police.
Till February 13, police arrested 146 people in several cases, 33 of whom are Delhi residents. Of these 33, 14 have been arrested for the violence at Burari, in which many security personnel were injured.
Families of many suspects said they were finding it difficult to make ends meet because the person arrested was the only earning member. Many others, like Devender, also claimed that their neighbours and families have ostracized them, fearing harassment by police.
Most of the Delhi residents arrested in connection with the January 26 violence come from middle-class families who live in working class neighbourhoods.
Two more Nehru Vihar residents -- Surjeet Singh, a salesman in a footwear shop in Karol Bagh, and Ravi Kumar, a student preparing for staff selection commission (SSC) exams – were also among those arrested in the Burari case. Their families claimed that they were not part of the tractor rally but were caught in the jam caused by the rally, while going to a gurdwara in Chandni Chowk.
“Since it was my son’s off, he left for the gurdwara on a scooter with his friend Ravi. It’s just that they were stuck in a traffic jam,” said Surjeet’s mother Gurpreet Singh, adding that her family depends on his son’s job which he might lose because of the arrest.
Dharminder Singh Harman’s family said he was part of the protest at Singhu but clarified that he was not involved in the violence. They said Harman, who was held for the Red Fort violence, was running a health camp at Singhu since November.