In a shocking turn of events, the village bank explosion incident in Henan has persisted for nearly four years, with depositor Ba Zhongjun continuing to fight back. Recently, he traveled alone to Xuchang to uphold his rights, but was met with a blockade, forced eviction, and threats of electric shocks and tape sealing by the police.
On the afternoon of November 21, Ba Zhongjun took a train from Beijing to Xuchang to uphold his rights. However, as the train approached the station, he was closely monitored by railway police and station police. According to information released by Ba Zhongjun, upon exiting the station, he was immediately surrounded by seven to eight individuals suspected to be involved in illegal activities, restricting his movements and personal freedom. These individuals used persuasion, intimidation, and pushing to prevent him from checking into a hotel, rotated shifts to monitor him, leaving him stranded for a long time in the cold square outside the station, and demanded that he either return to Shanghai or sign documents that misrepresented his account of discrepancies with the Henan village bank.
Ba Zhongjun dialed 110 for help, but the issue was not resolved. Due to hunger and cold, he attempted to rest in the station hall, but was once again surrounded by over ten individuals (including uniformed police officers) and escorted to the patrol room within the train station, where his personal freedom was restricted. During the night, several public officials and bank personnel played cards and enjoyed themselves in the patrol room, completely ignoring his presence, with the surveillance cameras turned off.
Around 9:30 am on November 22, due to lack of sleep throughout the night and feeling unwell, Ba Zhongjun tried to go to the mall to buy some things before returning to the hotel. However, he was obstructed by the police, resulting in a struggle and pushing that left his hands injured and bleeding. The director of the Nanguan Police Station even threatened him.
Barry, a witness, revealed, “That night, many depositors from Henan continued to call 110 and government hotlines to report the situation, but the emergency center not only did not dispatch any officers but also cited poor signal and hung up, even blocking the emergency calls.”
On the morning of November 22, the Xuchang police arranged a train ticket from Xuchang to Shanghai for Ba Zhongjun that afternoon. Around 11:16 am, he was forcibly taken into a police car and brought to Xuchang North Station. Upon arrival, Ba Zhongjun refused to get off the train, and one police officer (badge number 056101) attempted to use an electric shock device to subdue him.
Barry said, “Eyewitnesses at the scene confirmed that the deputy captain of the Nanguan Police Station, Shi Youjiao (badge number 155443), stuffed a mask into Ba Zhongjun’s mouth and threatened to tape it shut, spray pepper spray, and electric shocks. Several passengers and surveillance footage can testify to the scene. Under repeated threats by the police, Ba Zhongjun was forced onto the train without the police providing any legal documents or explanations.”
“After returning to Shanghai, authorities pressured the landlord to find excuses to make him move out,” Barry stated. “Just because he deposited money in the Henan village bank, leading to families being destroyed, they don’t want Ba Zhongjun to live!”
Since mid-April 2022, four village banks in Henan province – Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, Shangcai Huimin Village Bank, Zhecheng Huanghuai Village Bank, and Kaifeng Xindongfang Village Bank – have closed online withdrawal and transfer services without any warning, leaving depositors unable to access their funds.
This incident has sparked widespread panic among depositors, leading to numerous rights protection and protest activities. Reports suggest that it involves at least hundreds of billions of yuan and affects around four hundred thousand depositors.