At least 3 farmers lost vision due to pellet injuries: Punjab health minister

Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “At least three farmers have lost their eyes. One of them is at GMCH 32, Chandigarh, and two of them have been admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. We have got them checked and their eyes cannot be saved. The Haryana Police not only used water cannons and tear gas shells, but also bullets and pellet guns.” The minister, a practising eye surgeon until recently, said at least a dozen farmers have suffered pellet injuries.

Haryana’s ADGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh told The Indian Express, “Besides tear gas, we used rubber bullets on one or two occasions, when our forces were surrounded by mobs of 2,000-3,000 people. Rubber bullets are considered non-lethal ammunition and we used these only when they got really close and attacked our forces.”

Shekhupuria’s friend Parminder Singh, who was with him on Wednesday, said they were walking in the fields alongside Ghaggar river when Shekhupuria walked ahead of the others in their group. “We saw him with some other farmers who were walking towards the border. There were no orders from the farmer leaders to break barricades; they were simply going ahead out of curiosity. After a few minutes, some of the protesters carried him back — he was bleeding profusely from his left eye,” said Parminder.

“We rushed him to Civil Hospital, Banur, where his wound was stitched up. The doctors there referred him to the Sector 32 Hospital in Chandigarh. The doctors told us he will never be able to see with his left eye again,” he said, adding that Shekhupuria chose to take up farming after his graduation. He is now doing an MA in Sociology through distance learning from Punjabi University, Patiala.

Over 40 km away, at the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, Jagtar Singh Kotda Roda, 56, a farmer from Rampur Phul in Bathinda, is recovering from a fracture and pellet injuries to his back, arm and nape at the Khanauri border.

“I didn’t provoke anyone. When the Haryana Police fired tear gas shells, I rushed to cover some of them with wet gunny bags to check the release of the gas. Suddenly, something struck me from behind. It was painful. The doctor has told me that there is a fracture on my back,” Jagtar Singh told The Indian Express.

Milap Singh, a farmer activist affiliated to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), said he was tending to at least 10 farmers who have been admitted to the Civil Hospital in Rajpura with injuries.

Gurdeep Singh Chahal, a spokesperson for Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Sidhupur), said that a number of farmers had received pellet injuries. “We are preparing a list with their names. We will release it soon,” he said. —With Varinder Bhatia, Chandigarh