Police fired tear gas shells to disperse farmers after they reportedly pelted stones during a protest in Bathinda on Wednesday. The protest was held to demand the release of two farmers arrested last year, officials said. They added that several protesting farmers were detained during the incident.
Farmers had gathered in Jeond village under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan). They planned to hold a demonstration outside the Bathinda District Administrative Complex.
Before the protest, heavy police force was deployed in and around Bathinda as well as nearby districts. The deployment was aimed at stopping protesters from moving towards the District Administrative Complex.
Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jyoti Yadav Bains said the “mob” started pelting stones at police personnel from rooftops. “The mob showed aggression, but we contained it. The situation is under control,” Bains said. However, a protesting farmer claimed that police used tear gas shells and pelted stones without any provocation. He added that holding a protest is a democratic right. He also alleged that police raided the houses of farmer leaders to detain them ahead of the protest.
The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) had given a call for Wednesday’s protest to demand the release of farmers Shagandeep Singh Jeond and Baldev Singh Chauke. They were held during a protest last year and have been lodged in Bathinda jail since April.
In Patiala’s Samana, several farmers travelling to Bathinda to join the protest were stopped by police near Gajewas village on the Samana–Bhawanigarh road. Police parked soil-laden tipper trucks across the road to block them. Some farmers also had a scuffle with police personnel near a gurdwara in Samana after they were stopped from moving ahead.
Farmers said they were planning to hold a peaceful protest outside the Bathinda District Administrative Complex. However, they alleged that police stopped them and detained several protesters.
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