CHANDIGARH – In a move that has sent shockwaves through Punjab’s social and political circles, the Punjab Police on Tuesday morning arrested Mukesh Malaud, the prominent president of the Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC). The arrest took place at Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station while Malaud was returning from an Ambedkarite program in Maharashtra.
The arrest comes at a highly sensitive time, as the Punjab Vidhan Sabha was simultaneously holding a special session to discuss the rights of rural laborers and oppose the Centre’s changes to MGNREGA.
The Grounds for Arrest
According to police sources, Malaud was taken into custody by the Special Security Branch of the Punjab Police in connection with several long-standing cases registered in Sangrur. These include:
- The 2014 Balad Kalan Case: A decade-old case involving a violent clash during an agitation for the auction of village panchayat land reserved for Dalits.
- The Bir Aishwan Protest (May 2025): Earlier this year, Malaud had given a call to “seize” 927 acres of land in Bir Aishwan, Sangrur, which the ZPSC claims should be distributed under the Land Ceiling Act. While hundreds were detained in May, Malaud’s formal arrest in this case was executed today.
“Double Standards” and Protests
The arrest has drawn fierce condemnation from a coalition of labor, farmer, and democratic organizations. Leaders from the Pendu Mazdoor Union and Kirti Kisan Union have accused the AAP-led Punjab government of “political hypocrisy.”
”On one hand, the government is shedding crocodile tears for laborers in the Assembly, and on the other, it is arresting the voices of the landless in the middle of the night,” said Tarsem Peter, president of the Pendu Mazdoor Union.
Labor groups argue that the timing of the arrest—targeting a leader who has been at the forefront of the struggle against “dummy bidders” (upper-caste farmers using Dalit proxies to lease reserved land)—is an attempt to suppress a growing movement for land redistribution.
Political Fallout
The ZPSC and allied unions have already announced a state-wide protest for Wednesday, including the burning of effigies of the Punjab government across various villages. They have warned of an “intensified agitation” if Malaud is not released unconditionally.
As the state remains gripped by a severe cold wave, the political atmosphere in Punjab is heating up, with the opposition expected to raise the issue of “state repression” against Dalit activists in the coming days.