By Kusum Arora
Jalandhar: For the family of Pritpal Singh, February 24 was a day of respite as their only son was finally shifted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) Chandigarh from the restricted environment of PGI Rohtak, Haryana where he was admitted for multiple fractures in his leg, nose and jaw and severe injuries on his body.
Pritpal, a resident of Nawangaon village of Moonak sub-division, Sangrur district, was reportedly picked up by the Haryana Police on February 21 from Khanauri border, on the Punjab side. He was allegedly put in a gunny bag and beaten mercilessly when he serving langar. Incidentally, Sangrur is the home turf of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
It was only when he was being taken to a hospital in an ambulance that Pritpal managed to call his parents and in broken sentences tell them what had happened.
Lakhvir Kaur, Pritpal’s mother who was at PGI Chandigarh for her son’s surgery, told The Wire that on February 21, Pritpal was at Khanauri border inside Punjabi territory, when suddenly the Haryana Police started throwing tear gas shells at the farmers.
“In that chaos, when tear gas shells fell and farmers started running to save themselves, the Haryana Police crossed the Khanauri border and picked up my son. They put him in a sack and beat up mercilessly with sticks and rods till he became unconscious. Somehow, the almighty saved him,” she said.
When asked how they found out about what happened, Lakhvir said that Pritpal used to carry two mobile phones. While one was snatched by the Haryana Police, the second somehow remained in one of his pockets. “After beating my son, they had thrown him in the fields but later when they saw his condition, they took him to a private hospital in Narwana, Haryana. When Pritpal was being taken to the hospital in the ambulance at around 1:30 pm, he called up and informed us that he had been taken to Narwana in Jind district,” she said.
Sobbing, she said, “The moment we learnt about Pritpal’s condition, we informed some of our relatives in Haryana. They managed to chase the ambulance, which initially took him to a hospital in Narwana. We also immediately rushed from Sangrur. But seeing his condition, the doctors referred my son to PGI Rohtak, where he remained for three days. My son went through hell during this period.”
Lakhvir said that at PGI Rohtak, the Haryana Police and some men in civil clothes tracked them 24×7. “At PGI Rohtak, Haryana Police were deployed outside my son’s room. Whenever we would talk or attend to any phone call, the men in civil dress used to follow us. They kept tracking us throughout the day and night. Even if we used to go out to take a call, they used to follow us and would try to listen to our conversation. They even threatened us against talking to the media. We felt helpless and wanted to reach Punjab as soon as possible,” she said.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.