ED will close the case against Dalit farmers who accused BJP leader of land grabbing

Two farmer brothers from the Dalit community of Salem district of Tamil Nadu have accused a local BJP leader of trying to grab their land. Meanwhile, in July 2023, he received a summons from ED. There was controversy especially over the mention of their castes. It is alleged that ED was trying to put pressure on the farmers.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to close the money laundering case against two Dalit farmers from Tamil Nadu. Last Wednesday, January 3, people familiar with the matter gave this information.sement: 2:09

72 year old farmer S. Kannaiyaan and his 67-year-old brother S. Controversy had arisen after summons were issued to Krishnan and his caste name was mentioned.

The News Minute had told in one of its reports how two farmers from Attur in Salem district of Tamil Nadu had received summons from the ED in July 2023.

Both of them have 6.5 acres of land in the village and live on a monthly pension of Rs 1,000. Both of them have reportedly accused a local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to illegally grab their land.

It was said in the ED summons that the farmers were ‘Hindu Pallars’ (having the highest status among Dalit communities).

The name of the investigating officer is Ritesh Kumar, who had asked both of them to appear before the agency on July 5, 2023. After this summons surfaced on social media, there was widespread anger among the people.

According to Hindustan Times report, political parties and activists in Tamil Nadu had taken special objection to the ED mentioning the caste of farmers (Hindu Pallars) in both the summons and the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report, which is equivalent to an FIR). .

A senior ED official, requesting anonymity, said, “The case has been blown out of proportion as the summons is almost six months old.”

The official said, ‘We had registered a case against Kannaiyan and Krishnan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in March 2022 on the basis of a letter forwarded by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department on July 12, 2021. The forest department case was related to the killing of two wild buffaloes. Under sections 51 and 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which are scheduled offences.

He further said, ‘We have been taking up several wildlife cases recently in line with court orders and the Financial Action Task Force to monitor wildlife cases.’

Saying that Kannaiyan and Krishnan were summoned as part of the ‘regular procedure’ followed in PMLA cases, a second ED official said, ‘They (farmers) will not be interrogated on that day (July 5, 2023). Was done. No other summons has been issued to him, but on July 5, 2023, a lawyer appearing with the farmers created a ruckus at the ED office in Chennai.

On mentioning the caste of the farmers in the case, this officer said, ‘The ED takes cases from the police or agencies that investigate scheduled crimes and usually re-registers it verbatim. It was a clerical error.

However, the first ED official said, ‘The PMLA case against the two farmer brothers is being closed as we have learned that a court in Attur (Salem) has recently booked them in a forest department wildlife case (main predicate offence). Have been acquitted.

According to Hindustan Times, farmers’ lawyer G. Praveena said, ‘Now we are not worried about whether ED is closing its case or not. We want Tamil Nadu Police to take action against ED officials and arrest them. We have already lodged a complaint with the police.

Praveena also said that Kannaiyan and Krishnan were related to a local BJP leader and former Salem district secretary G. He is in a legal battle with Gunasekhar as he is allegedly trying to grab his land in Attur.

He further said, ‘That civil case is still going on and is pending in the court. ED is only trying to put pressure on the farmers by summoning them in another case.

According to reports, however, ED officials have denied any political connection in his case.

Hindustan Times tried to contact Tamil Nadu BJP officials for comment in this regard, but could not get an immediate response.

Courtesy: The Wire

Note: This news piece was originally published in thewire.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Righ