26-year-old farmer from UP dies during ITO clashes

New Delhi: In the midst of fierce clashes between police and protesting farmers in Central Delhi's ITO Crossing, a 26-year-old farmer from Uttar Pradesh's Bilaspur area was killed after the tractor he was driving overturned and crushed him. Hundreds of others were critically injured during the day as well.

While eyewitnesses and family members of the deceased said the man, identified as Navdeep Singh Hundal, was first shot by police and then lost control — crashing his tractor, the police have said Singh was driving rashly and had thus had an accident. During the day, many farmers, after having broken through barricades, raced their tractors along the ITO Crossing, trying to run over policemen and other onlookers as they moved towards Red Fort.

The Delhi Police, to substantiate its claims released CCTV footage of the alleged accident where a blue-coloured tractor, appearing to be the same as the one being driven by Singh, sped into a line of police barricades, overturning on immediate impact.

However, some of the farmers at the spot continued to insist that he was shot by police and began an indefinite sit-in at the main ITO Crossing, with Singh's body. The farmers draped the body in the Tricolour and kept it there, not allowing the police to send it for post-mortem. The farmers also lashed out at mediapersons covering the incident. Most of them said if they allow the body to be taken to a hospital, authorities would cover up his "gunshot wound".

Later on Tuesday night, the protesters called for an ambulance through the police personnel posted there so that Singh's body could be taken back to his village.

He was reportedly an only child and had returned to India from Australia two years ago and is survived by his wife and parents.