Farmer killed, 12 cops injured; Delhi Chalo march put on hold
Nagaland Post
February 22, 2024
Farmers leaders on Wednesday put the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri, one of the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they will decide the next course of action on Friday evening.
Punjab farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu had resumed their agitation early in the morning after a two-day lull following the fourth round of talks on Sunday night with a panel of three Union ministers in an attempt to break the deadlock.
Police fired tear gas shells at the two border points multiple times to disperse groups of protesters when they attempted to move towards the layers of barricades stalling their march to the national capital. Earlier in the day, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who is among the Union ministers engaging with farmer leaders, called for further talks and appealed to the protesters to maintain peace.
Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu with their tractor-trolleys and trucks agitating for their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and farm debt waiver.
Farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa identified the dead farmer as Subhkaran Singh (21), a resident of Baloke village in Punjab’s Bathinda district. Talking to reporters at Shambhu, Pandher said farmers will review the situation that developed at Khanauri.
The farmers claimed that Haryana Police personnel fired rubber bullets, besides tear gas shells.
Heavy earthmoving equipment, including excavators, and modified tractors were seen at the protest sites, and police had cautioned that these might be used to break barricades and cause harm to security personnel.
Many protesting farmers were seen wearing masks and glasses to protect themselves from tear gas. Drones were used by police to keep an eye on the activities of the farmers on the other side of the barricades and drop tear gas shells.