United Sikhs moves court for students missing from farmers' protest sites

United Sikhs, a human rights organization, filed a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi High Court for two students, Arjun Singh of Punjab and Purveer Singh of Uttar Pradesh, reported missing and last seen at the farmers' protests in Delhi on Wednesday.

"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," Harpreet Kaur, legal director, United Sikhs, said in a statement.

"Through its legal aid wing, United Sikhs 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 kin who have not been found at protest sites and have also not reached home."

"As part of its efforts, a helpdesk has been set up, and a toll-free number 1800-258-6769 has been functional since November 29, 2020, and through emails at [email protected]," Harpreet added.

So far, the panel has received details of 84 missing farmers through its information channels, most of whom were later found in the arrested list. For others, they take up several measures, including thorough search at protests sites, posting details on social media, posters at the border and making enquiries at local hospitals. For those still untraceable, they have decided to move the court. The organization shall soon file two more habeas corpus petitions.

Habeas Corpus is a prayer made before a court to direct the state to produce somebody who has been untraceable for long with no clue of their whereabouts with family or anyone else.