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Navreet Singh

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Navreet Singh (age 25) was a protestor who reportedly died on the spot while driving the tractor at 2021 Farmers' Republic Day parade on 26 January 2021. He was the lone fatality during the farmer's rally that was part of the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Navreet Singh was a resident of Rampur District, and student of Melbourne University on vacation in India. The police claimed he died after he lost control and his tractor overturned on him while he was trying to break through barricades. Farmer union leaders and victim's family claimed that he died after being shot in the head by the police, and the event was witnessed by other farmers near ITO.[9][10]

Background

The farmers in India were protesting against the new controversial agricultural laws, asking the Central government to repeal them.[11] On 26 January, tens of thousands of the farmers held a farmers' parade with a large convoy of tractors and drove into Delhi. The farmers drove in long lines of tractors, riding horses or marching on foot.[12] The farmers were barred from entering the central part of the city where the official Republic Day parade was taking place.[13] At the Singhu Border starting point, according to the police estimates, around 7000 tractors had gathered. Reuters reported citing farmers' unions that close to 200,000 tractors had participated.[13]

In the morning, the tractor rally commenced from the Delhi border and was designated to follow a decided route. However, as the rally progressed, it deviated and marched towards other routes.[14] The protestors marched towards ITO metro station and the city centre broke through the barricades. The Delhi Police used tear gas and Baton charged the protesting farmers leading to clashes.[15][16][17][18]

Witness accounts

According to the witness accounts filmed at the incident site by a local Punjabi TV station, the police shot Navreet when he was attempting to drive through the barrier. A man present at the scene stated that Navreet was hit by the bullet, after which the tractor overturned. A woman witness stated "Those policemen have shot him, shot on face, he is instantly killed." A young farmer identified him and said "Navreet is the name of this boy. He has been shot in the head."[11]

The Guardian reported, citing doctors who reviewed the evidence, that the photographs, the video and the postmortem report of Singh's body indicated that he had "suffered an injury consistent with at least one fatal gunshot wound through the head".[11] Dr Basil Purdue, a pathologist registered with the UK Home Office had reviewed the video and the postmortem report. The Guardian quoted her saying "To me this is one gunshot wound, possibly two, unless proved otherwise." He added such injuries could not be the result of a fall and it was implausible that an overturned tractor caused the death.[11]

Police version of events

After the allegations emerged, the Delhi Police released CCTV footage of the incident.[19]

The postmortem conducted at 2 am on 27 January, noted the cause of death as "shock and haemorrhage due to anti-morten injuries". No bullet injuries were mentioned in the report.[20] The Delhi Police have denied any involvement in the death.[11]

According to Delhi Police, Navreet was among the protestors who broke through the barriers in their tractors.[11] The Police First Information Report (FIR), stated that Navreet Singh died from head injuries sustained in a tractor accident after his tractor overturned. Additional Director General of Police (DGP) Bareilly Zone, whose jurisdiction includes Rampur, told reporters that the postmortem (autopsy) report has confirmed that Navreet Singh was not shot, and succumbed to antemortem injuries "received after his tractor toppled".[21]

Claims by family

The family disputes the police version of the incident, and maintained that the death was due to bullet injury. The family referred to the mention of two "lacerated" wounds, one on Navreet's chin and the other behind his ear, in the post-mortem report. His family referred to the chin wound as entry and the deep gash above ear as the 'exit wound' of bullet. The family also released a video of the Navreet's face, showing the deep holes visible in his left chin and above his right ear, making the point that this was a bullet injury.[9]

Navreet was staying with his grand father Hardeep Singh Dibdiba. Dibdiba denied the police version of events, and alleged that Navneet had died from gunshot wounds from the police firing.[22] Dibdiba alleged the gunshot was covered up in the postmortem. He stated, "At the hospital, one doctor told me that my grandson was hit by gunshot, but said they could not write that a bullet killed him." The family said, the X-ray report of the body taken during the post mortem was not provided to them.[11]

Navreet's family said they will move the courts on this case.[11]

Sedition charge against journalists

The police cracked down on the attempts to report the incident. At least nine senior journalists were booked with criminal charges for reporting allegations that Delhi police fatally shot Navreet.[11] Many journalists and politicians who reported Hardeep Singh's allegations have been charged with sedition by the Delhi police and 3 state police.[22]

The police cases were filed across three BJP-ruled states against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, National Herald’s senior consulting editor Mrinal Pande, Qaumi Awaz editor Zafar Agha, The Caravan magazine’s editor and founder Paresh Nath, caravan's editor Anant Nath and executive editor Vinod K. Jose, and one unnamed person.[23] Varadarajan has called the police FIR "malicious prosecution".[22][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Siddharth Varadarajan, the editor of online news portal The Wire (India) was also charged. He stated "This case against me is ridiculous and will not stand but what the government really wants to ensure is that the dead man’s family does not repeat its claims and questions and is silenced".[11]

Editors Guild of India spoke against invoking of the sedition charge on journalists. The Guild condemned the intimidating manner in which the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police have charged the senior editors and journalists. They stated, "The journalists have been specifically targeted for reporting the accounts pertaining to the death of one of the protesters on their personal social media handles as well as those of the publications they lead and represent. It must be noted that on the day of the protest and high action, several reports were emerging from eyewitnesses on the ground as well as from the police, and therefore it was only natural for journalists to report all the details as they emerged. This is in line with established norms of journalistic practice". The guild termed the FIRs as an "attempt to intimidate, harass, browbeat and stifle the media".[31] Press Club of India (PCI), the Editors’ Guild of India, the Press Association, the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Indian Journalists Union in a joint press conference asked the sedition law to be scrapped.[23][32]

References

  1. ^ Rana, Yudhvir (28 January 2021). "Dead farmer was just back from Australia; wife, 21, still there". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  2. ^ "'Govt murdered him', say kin of farmer who died in Delhi violence, cops say death due to tractor flipping". India Today. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Protester who died returned from Australia; family unaware he was in Delhi". www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. ^ "ट्रैक्टर रैली में किसान की मौत को लेकर रामपुर प्रशासन ने मीडिया में छपी रिपोर्ट का किया खंडन, केस दर्ज". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ^ Bhandari, Shashwat (27 January 2021). "Farmer who died at ITO during protest had returned from Australia to celebrate his wedding". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. ^ Bhardwaj, Ananya (29 January 2021). "Protester killed in Delhi tractor rally was waiting to reunite with wife in Australia". ThePrint. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Protester who died in Delhi cremated in Rampur village". The Indian Express. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Farmer Who Died Returned From Australia, Family Unaware He Was In Delhi". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b "'Autopsy Doctor Told Me He'd Seen the Bullet Injury But Can Do Nothing as His Hands are Tied'". The Wire. 30 January 2021.
  10. ^ Shekhar, Raj. "Farmers' rally: Tractor parade turns Capital raid". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Indian journalists face criminal charges over police shooting reports". the Guardian. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  12. ^ Welle, Deutsche. "India farmer protesters clash with police on Republic Day | DW | 26.01.2021". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b Bhatia, Gurman (29 January 2021). "Tractors to Delhi". Reuters. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  14. ^ Revathi Krishnan (26 January 2021). "Breaking barriers to Red Fort march – timeline of how farmer protest turned ugly within hours". The Print.
  15. ^ Arvind Ojha (26 January 2021). "86 cops injured in farmers protest, several admitted: Police". India Today.
  16. ^ "Farmers' protest - 41 security personnel sustain injuries at Red Fort". The Hindu. 26 January 2021.
  17. ^ "India protest: Farmers breach Delhi's Red Fort in huge tractor rally". BBC News. India. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  18. ^ Hannah Ellis-Petersen; Aakash Hassan (26 January 2021). "Violent clashes as Indian farmers storm Delhi's Red Fort". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Farmers' Protest: One dead as tractor overturns at ITO area in Delhi". The Economic Times. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  20. ^ Bhardwaj, Ananya (28 January 2021). "Not shot but crushed by tractor- post mortem on farmer who died in Delhi protests reveals". The Print. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  21. ^ Bhardwaj, Ananya (29 January 2021). "Protester Killed in Delhi Tractor Rally Was Waiting to Reunite with Wife in Australia". ThePrint. Retrieved 31 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b c M, Apoorva and hani (31 January 2021). "Another UP FIR against Journalist — The Wire's Varadarajan under Probe for Farmer Death Tweet". ThePrint. Retrieved 31 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ a b "Media Bodies Slam FIRs Against Journalists, Want Sedition Law to Be Scrapped". The Wire. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Sedition FIRs against Tharoor, journalists now in five states". The Indian Express. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Delhi Police Case Against Shashi Tharoor, Others After UP, Madhya Pradesh". NDTV.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  26. ^ Jha, Bagish (31 January 2021). "Prompt FIRs, like in sedition case against Shashi Tharoor, scribes, not common at cyber police station". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Congress slams BJP over FIRs filed against Shashi Tharoor, 6 journalists". ThePrint. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  28. ^ "FIR against Shashi Tharoor, journalists including Rajdeep Sardesai over tweets on farmer's death in Bengaluru". Deccan Herald. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  29. ^ "FIR filed against Shashi Tharoor and six others for tweet on farmer's death". Hindustan Times. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  30. ^ "R-Day Violence: Delhi Police Files Case Against Shashi Tharoor, 6 Scribes Over Tweets on Farmer's Death". News18. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Tractor rally: Editors Guild of India sound alarm at sedition case on journalists". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Journalists' Bodies Slam Sedition FIRs Against Editors, Reporters for Farmers' Rally Coverage". The Wire. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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