‘Several SKM leaders put under house arrest in Pb’

Chandigarh: Farmer leaders have claimed that several Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were put under house arrest by the Punjab government on Monday, ahead of their scheduled protest outside the Shambhu police station.

The May 6 protest was called against the Punjab government over its alleged use of repressive methods to evict protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points in March.

The farmer leaders claimed that Punjab Police personnel reached their houses early morning to detain them. They said police wanted to prevent them from mobilising people for Tuesday’s protest.

“Dallewal was put under house arrest at around 4 am at his house in Faridkot district,” a farmer leader said. Several other leaders faced a similar ordeal in different districts of the state, the farmer leaders said. Among those detained are Manjit Singh Rai and Davinder Singh.

The farmers’ body had recently announced to hold a protest outside the Shambhu police station on Tuesday against the state government’s alleged use of repressive methods to evict them from their protest morchas in March, and also demanding strict action against those people who stole many of their belongings when they were evicted.

Following his alleged house arrest, Dallewal, who had ended his prolonged fast in April, uploaded a video on social media.

“I am still weak and even now, I can barely walk, and yet they have confined me to my home,” he said, adding that they had announced a “peaceful protest..., but the government got scared and is not allowing us to gather”.