Neelam, arrested over Parliament security breach, participated in farmers' agitation, says family

Chandigarh/New Delhi: Family members of Neelam, one of the two persons arrested for protesting outside the Parliament on Wednesday, said she had earlier participated in several agitations including farmers' movement.

Neelam's mother Saraswati Devi told reporters at her house in Ghaso Khurd village in Haryana's Jind that she came to know about the incident through the media.

Two persons, including Neelam, protested outside the Parliament building and sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting slogans 'tanashahi nahi chalegi'. They were arrested by the Delhi Police.

Neelam (35) was currently staying in a PG accommodation in Hisar for the last five months where she was preparing for competitive examinations, her brother Ram Niwas said.

"I got a call from my elder brother to switch on the TV immediately. He told me that Neelam was arrested in Delhi," Niwas told PTI.

According to Niwas, she actively participated in farmers' protest.

He said that his sister, who has cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET), had visited the village two days ago, but she did not talk about the Parliament protest.

Neelam's mother said, "I don't know how she took this step. Maybe she did this to get a job."

“I spoke to my daughter this morning and she asked me to regularly take my medicines. We were not aware that she had gone to Delhi," Saraswati Devi said.

Neelam's family members claimed that she has also done Masters, MEd and MPhil.

"Her certificate of Haryana Teachers Eligibility Test had expired. I asked her to go to Hisar and get coaching for the same," said Niwas, who does livestock farming.

A villager at Ghaso Khurd said Neelam had once gone with some villagers at Khatkar Toll plaza during farmers' protest against now-repealed farm laws.

She also raised her voice against issues like unemployment, he said.

Neelam has three sisters and two brothers. His father Kohar Singh works as a 'halwai' (confectioner) in Uchana Mandi, the villager said.