Delhi gherao foiled, over 350 farmers held

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 23

In a crackdown on agitating farmers for the second day in succession, the police today arrested more than 200 of them when they were on their to Delhi on the call of the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, an umbrella body of about 60 farmers’ organisations.

With this, 367 farmers have been arrested, including 122 arrested yesterday.

Bharatiya Kisan Union president Gurnam Singh Charuni today described the police action as “Hitlershahi” and alleged several farmers had been injured in the lathicharge by the police in Radaur yesterday.

“More than 500 farmers have been arrested, many of them on the serious charge of attempt to murder,” he claimed. “If farmers are not released and the cases against them are not withdrawn by February 26, farmers’ outfits will announce a mega agitation in a mahapanchayat at Kheri Chopta (Hisar) that day,” Charuni said.

Inspector General of Police Mamta Singh confirmed the police made 324 preventive arrests in the past two days, while 43 others had been arrested under the IPC. Of the 43 farmers, 35 have been arrested in connection with a clash with the police in Radaur (Yamunanagar).

“The maximum preventive arrests have been made in Kurukshetra. There, 113 farmers have been taken into custody. In all, 80 farmers have been arrested in Jind, 33 in Karnal and 25 in Kaithal,” she said.

The police have also impounded 76 tractor-trolleys of farmers, she said.

She claimed the situation in the state was peaceful and no national highways leading to Delhi was blocked.

Sonepat Deputy Commissioner KM Pandurang confirmed eight arrests in his district and said traffic to Delhi from Kundli border was smooth. “Farmers tried to block inner roads when they were stopped from going to a national highway leading to Delhi,” he said.

In Rohtak, about 20 protesting farmers were arrested for violating Section 144 of the CrPC today, DSP Ravinder said. They were produced in a local court and released on bail.