Haryana Police use tear gas as farmers intensify protest

The Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells on agitating farmers in Khedi Chopta of Hisar district and reports said that more than a dozen protesting farmers were detained by the police.

The farmers had been staging a dharna at Khedi Chopta for the past five days in support of the protesting farmers on the Punjab-Haryana border. Tear gas canisters were fired by the police to disperse farmers who were heading to the Khanauri border point of Punjab and Haryana.

Earlier in the day, the family of farmer Shubhkaran Singh who died during clashes at the Punjab-Haryana border, rejected the Rs One crore ex-gratia offered by the Punjab government. Farmer leaders said they will not allow a post-mortem on the young farmer’s body until the guilty got punished.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) observed a “black day” and burnt effigies of BJP leaders in protest against the Haryana Police’s action against agitating farmers camping at two of the state’s border points.

Tragedy struck again in the camp of protesting farmers when a 62-year-old farmer, who was part of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation, died of a heart attack in Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border. Darshan Singh was a native of Amargarh village in Bathinda district, said Sarwan Singh Pandher. The SKM gave the call on Thursday to mourn the death of Shubhkaran Singh. The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which is a part of the SKM, said on Friday that it held demonstrations at 47 places in 17 Punjab districts in protest against Singh’s death.

BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said they burnt effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij.

In Amritsar, farmers burnt an effigy of the BJP-led Centre at the New Golden Gate, the main entry point to the city. SKM leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said protests were held at various villages along the border, including Doekey, Mahima, Pandori, Modhey and Ratokey.

In Ludhiana, members of the SKM and trade unions jointly held a demonstration outside the Mini Secretariat. Similar protests took place in Hoshiarpur district where farmers raised slogans against the Centre and the Haryana government.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading the “Delhi Chalo” march to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP and farm loan waiver.

Members of the SKM (Non-Political) and KMM put up black flags on their vehicles to register their protest against Singh’s death. Farmer leaders had put the march on hold for two days on Wednesday after Singh’s death.

Besides the legally guaranteed MSP, the farmers from Punjab are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh.

Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the 2020-21 agitation against the three farm laws are also among their demands.

Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu with their tractor-trolleys and trucks still blocking the roads.

In another development, the Haryana Police on Friday said it was withdrawing its earlier decision to invoke provisions of the National Security Act (NSA) against some farmer leaders who are part of the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

The move came a day after Ambala police issued a statement saying that it was implementing the process of detaining office bearers of the protesting farmer outfits under section 2(3) of the National Security Act, 1980, to maintain law and order and prevent criminal activities.

However, on Friday, Inspector General of Police (Ambala Range) Sibash Kabiraj said, “It is to clarify to all concerned that the matter of invoking provisions of the National Security Act on few farm union leaders of Ambala district has been reconsidered and it has been decided that the same will not be invoked.”

He also appealed to the protesting farmers and their leaders to maintain peace and cooperate with authorities in maintaining law and order.

Police officials said efforts were being made by the farmers’ organisations to break the barricades put up at the Shambhu border. Attempts are also being made to disturb law and order by pelting stones and creating a ruckus, police said in a statement issued in Hindi.

The statement said government and private properties had been damaged and 30 policemen injured. In another statement, the Haryana Police said that it would move to recover damages through the seizure of properties and bank accounts of protesters.

Speaking to journalists in Patiala, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the Punjab chief minister had asserted that stringent action would be taken against those responsible for Shubhkaran’s death. But now the officials are saying that it is not possible, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader said.

“We have told the (Shubhkaran) family that it may take two days or 10 days. For us money is not important. We are demanding that an FIR be lodged and then cremation will take place,” he said and accused Punjab government officials of “pressuring” Shubhkaran’s family into agreeing to the cremation.

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, leader of SKM (Non-Political) that is spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march along with the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, claimed the senior superintendent of police of Bathinda has said that police could not register a case against Haryana security personnel