Cops detain elderly protester for 6 hours in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, June 21
The police rounded up a protester at Matka Chowk, Laabh Singh (aged around 80), who has been protesting the farm laws since March 6. Laabh sits on the divider at the Matka Chowk all day long in a makeshift tent.
Today, he was rounded up at about 10:45 am and released from the Sector 17 police station at 5 pm after a large number of protesters swarmed the police station and demanded Laabh’s freedom to dissent.
Previously, the police tried to forcefully remove him from the site on April 12. “I think, the higher-ups are miffed with the protesters at Matka Chowk, because on June 18, we gheraoed Haryana CM ML Khattar’s car as it was passing through the Chowk. Babaji’s arrest is a fallout of that grudge, probably,” said Prateek Maan of the Naujawan Kisan Ekta.
Satnam Singh Tanda of the Kisan Ekta, Chandigarh, said: “At 10 am, DSP (Central) Krishan Kumar came and met us at the chowk. We were asked to remove babaji’s tent by 11 am. While the members of the Kisan Ekta and I sat down for a meeting to discuss over the issue, the police sneaked up on babaji and took him to the police station at 10:45 am. After much debate, the police agreed to have his tent near the chowk, but towards the Rose Garden’s side, instead of the divider.”
Krishan Kumar, DSP Central, did not respond to texts and phone calls. Duty magistrate Pradhuman Singh said: “I’ve been told that he was sitting in front of Matka Chowk and they want him to shift away from there.” — TNS
