Cops blow hot and cold on protesters

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, April 17

The weekend lockdown could neither quell the protest against the new agro-market laws at Matka Chowk nor crush the spirit of protesters.

In the afternoon today, the police tried to remove Laabh Singh, the elderly baptised Sikh, who has been sitting on a dharna at Matka Chowk since March 6 from 5 am to 10 pm.

Ravinder Singh Bassi, former president of the District Bar Association, said: “The policemen allowed Laabh Singh to sit on the divider of the chowk, after we tried to reason with them. We told them that he was there all alone and there was no gathering.”

Bassi added, “In the morning, when boys went to give him breakfast, they found that his utensils were missing and the earthen pot, in which he stored drinking water, was broken too.”

In the evening, people started gathering at the dividers of the chowk. At first, they tried to reason with the head constable on duty, and were later allowed to protest at the chowk on the condition of maintaining peace and following Covid guidelines.

Around 7.30 pm, the situation got tense. “All of a sudden, the police tried to arrest Gurpreet, one of the protesters, who comes from Khuda Lahora, and we all started stepping in the police vehicle to get arrested with him too. So, the police backed down and asked us all to leave the chowk,” said Satnam Singh Tanda, a member of the Naujawan Kisan Ekta.

The Sector 17 Station House Officer (SHO), Ram Rattan, said: “We have orders from the Deputy Commissioner, as under Section 144, we can’t allow people to gather at the Matka Chowk.”