Cops looking into whether farm leaders hid details of designated routes from protesters

New Delhi: While the Delhi Police have gone ahead and filed an FIR against farmer leaders who gave an undertaking that they would uphold the terms and conditions of the permission granted for the Republic Day tractor rally, questions have arisen as to how a violation of a rally NOC will be probed.

According to the investigation so far, the police have said that they have enough reason to believe that the farmer leaders might have failed to communicate the details of their agreement with the Delhi Police to the protesters, which had resulted in the anarchy the Capital saw on January 26.

What message was conveyed to the protesters regarding the parade route, whether the routes decided after five marathon meetings between Delhi Police and farmer leaders were properly conveyed or whether some facts were hidden from protestors are all angles that the special team of the Delhi Police is probing.

"Five meetings, even on January 25, Delhi Police made proper contact with farmer leaders then why these people, instead of doing tractor rally on the designated route, violated the NOC. Two things what we observed on January 26, there might be a possibility that the protestors on tractors were specifically told to go to Red Fort and the Outer Ring Road and they were not properly told about the designated routes," sources said, adding that another part of the probe involves finding out whether the actual facts decided in the meeting were hidden from the protestors — deliberately or otherwise.

According to sources, police personnel who were on the streets on January 26 also observed that in several places, there were no volunteers guiding protesters about the decided route. "They should have planned something to guide these tractors. We did not find anyone from their side guiding these protestors," an official said.

This despite the fact that about 3,000 volunteers from the protesting group of farmers were assigned the role of maintaining peace at the Republic Day tractor rally.

Sources aware of developments said they are also looking for an organisation that has claimed to be a students' union from Punjab, for their investigation. "Tractors coming from Tikri had stickers of this group. Their role in the incident will also be a probe," a source close to the investigation said.

Apart from the major farmer unions who were involved in a tractor rally, the role of three other unions being probed. The top brass of Delhi Police again met on Sunday to discuss in detail how the probe should progress. Feedback from DCPs was also sought to know who were involved in maintaining law and order arrangements on Republic Day. One sub-inspector said that in one of the areas where violence erupted, a few youths were caught by police who were raising slogans that they were determined to fufill the objective of their leaders and that will "conquer Red Fort".

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a team of six forensic experts from Gujarat examined areas in and around the ITO junction in central Delhi, where one farmer was killed, to collect evidence.

"Two teams were there which came from National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, visited the spot for investigation," the official said.

When asked whether any of the farmer leaders asked to help the probe had cooperated with the investigators, a senior official said the leaders were yet to join the probe but might do so on Monday (today).

Over 50 people, including farmer leaders, have been served notices to join the probe and sources have said that while all of them have acknowledged the notice, they are yet to join the investigation. "Some of them are also protesting," sources said.

So far, more than 35 FIRs have been registered and

over 80 people, including juveniles, have been taken into custody.