The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Saturday staged protests across villages in Punjab, burning effigies of the AAP government in response to the eviction of farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points by the Punjab Police.
The protest, which is expected to continue in the coming days, is part of a larger agitation against the state’s handling of the farmers' movement.
Amid the unrest, several farmer leaders visited their detained colleagues, including Sarwan Singh Pandher, at Patiala Jail. According to the visiting leaders, approximately 125 protesters are currently lodged in Patiala Jail, 150 in Nabha Jail, and 40 in Sangrur Jail.
Farmer leader Guramneet Singh Mangat stated that after meeting the detained farmers, including several women, he found them in high spirits, determined to continue their struggle. The arrests followed a major crackdown on Wednesday when farmer leaders, including Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were detained by the Punjab Police.
The detentions occurred as the leaders were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh. The arrests, coupled with the forceful eviction of protesters, have intensified tensions between the farmers and the Punjab government.
KMSC leader Sukhwinder Singh strongly condemned the AAP government, criticising its heavy-handed approach in dispersing the protesters and detaining their leaders. He demanded the immediate release of the arrested farmers and accused the authorities of mishandling the situation.
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Singh further alleged that in the aftermath of the police action, several belongings of the farmers stationed at Shambhu and Khanauri had gone missing, prompting frustration and concern among the protestors.
Several farmers reported that their trolleys, air-conditioners, refrigerators, inverters, LPG cylinders, washing machines, fans, and other essential items had disappeared following the crackdown.
Guramneet Singh Mangat claimed that when farmers returned to retrieve their possessions, many of their trolleys were missing, raising suspicions that they had been stolen. In response, farmers have started visiting villages in search of their lost belongings.
KMSC leader Satnam Singh Pannu has called on the Punjab government to provide compensation for the missing items. He also urged authorities to dismantle the structures built by farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites.
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As the protests stretched over several months, farmers had constructed temporary shelters on the highways to sustain their agitation. However, as part of the recent crackdown, the Punjab Police deployed JCB machines to dismantle the makeshift structures and clear the highways at Shambhu and Khanauri.
The protesting farmers, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, had been camping at the Shambhu (Shambhu-Ambala) and Khanauri (Sangrur-Jind) border points since February 13 last year. Their march to Delhi was halted by security forces, leading them to establish long-term protest sites at these locations.
The ongoing unrest and police action have further escalated tensions, with farmer organisations vowing to intensify their agitation in the coming days.
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