UNITED SIKHS, an international human rights organisation, has filed the writ petition of habeas corpus for two young students missing from their home towns and were informed to be seen at the protest sites in the national capital.
Habeas corpus is a petition which prays to the court to direct the state to produce somebody, who has been untraceable for long, with no clue of their whereabouts, either with the family or anybody else.
"We can feel what the family goes through when a loved one goes missing. With a painful heart and a heavy throat, we receive their calls almost every other day for updates. We hope we can be of help to such families through our writ petition,” says Harpreet Kaur, legal director, UNITED SIKHS.
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UNITED SIKHS, through its Legal Aid cell, has been providing support to reunite farmers who have been untraceable since January 26. It is running an active campaign to locate the missing farmers or their kins who have not been found at protest sites and have also not reached home.
As part of its efforts, a toll-free number 1800-258-6769 has been functional since November 29, 2020, and through emails at missing-protestors@unitedsikhs.org.
UNITED SIKHS received details of 84 untraceable farmers through all its information channels. Most were found on the arrested list. For others, all efforts like a thorough search at all the protest sites on the borders, posting details on social media, pasting posters at borders and enquires were made for them at local hospitals.
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Through these efforts, UNITED SIKHS found one Jaswinder Singh from Singhu border, who was reported to be missing from Tikri border.
For the others, it was decided to move court through a habeas corpus writ petition.
Four petitions are ready to be filed, out of which one for Punveer Singh was filed in the Delhi high court on Monday (April 12) and the other for Arjun Singh was filed on Tuesday (April 13).
Zirakpur boy missing since Feb
Arjun Singh, a 19-year-old student, was reported to be missing in February 2021 from his home at Zirakpur. His father Avtar Singh said, “My son was tense during the lockdown, and increasingly became more aloof. He was angry and upset as farmers’ agitation prolonged. One fine day, we could not find him in the house.”
He adds, “In April 2021, I was informed that my son was seen at the protest site. I visited the site, but could not trace him. I filed a missing report with the Delhi Police. Finally, I approached the UNITED SIKHS and am getting full support.”
Ghaziabad’s Punveer influenced by farmers’ videos
Punveer Singh, a 19-year-old youth, was reported missing in March 2021 and has been untraceable since. “Punveer was concerned about farmers’ issues and watched videos related to farmers’ protests,” said a family member, adding that he was informed that his son was last seen at the Ghazipur border.
