Police foil protest by farmers outside SSP office in Muktsar

Tension gripped the district Police Lines area that houses the SSP office after the police stopped Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) activists from putting up a tent for a proposed indefinite sit-in to protest a murder case registered against its members.

Undeterred, the farmers, who had arrived with quilts and mattresses, blocked the road and began raising slogans against the police. The cops initially tried to pacify the crowd, but dispersed them and detained several when they refused to leave.

The protest was announced after several union members were booked in connection with the recent death of Sukhdev Singh, grandson of freedom fighter Sucha Singh of Wangal village.

The farmers claimed Sukhdev, who was a diabetic and also suffered from kidney problems, died of a heart attack and not due to an assault. They alleged that the police registered the case under pressure.