Haryana police fired teargas shells in a clash with protesting farmers in Hisar on Friday, in a bid to prevent them from marching towards Khanauri, on Haryana’s border with Punjab.
The police claimed that three policemen sustained serious injuries in the clash, while 21 other policemen and officers also suffered minor injuries. Local residents claimed that some farmers also sustained injuries in the clash, which the police denied.
The violence took place amid demonstrations by various farmer unions across the country against the police action on the agitating farmers in Punjab which led to the death of a youth on Wednesday.
The clash between the farmers and the police took place around 2 p.m. when a group of farmers staging a protest at Hisar’s Kheri Chopta village for the last few days decided to march towards the Khananuri border. The police allegedly detained a few farmer leaders in a bid to stop them. According to a prominent local khap leader, who was not willing to be named, the agitating farmers then protested the detention of their leaders, following which the police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them. He said that the farmers were holding “pakka morcha” at the village for the past few days, supported by a handful of farmer unions.
‘Mild use of force’
The police, in a press statement, claimed that officers at the spot were trying to peacefully dissuade the farmers from marching towards the Khanauri border when the protestors resorted to unprovoked stone-pelting and damaged official vehicles. The police claim that they then resorted to a mild use of force, including teargas, to disperse the farmers.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha said, in a statement, that the effigies of Union Minister Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal and State Home Minister Anil Vij were burnt in several parts of the country as part of the protests against the police action. Women and youth took an active part in the protests, it said.
Ex-gratia
The SKM welcomed the decision of the Aam Aadmi Party government of Punjab to give ₹1 crore as ex-gratia, along with a job, to the next of kin of Shubhkaran Singh, who had died at the Haryana-Punjab State boundary during the protests.
However, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha co-ordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher rejected the ex-gratia announcement saying that they would not allow any post-mortem of the body until a first information report (FIR) is registered against the Haryana police. Led by the SKM (Non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, the farmers staged a demonstration against the police and the Union government. at the Shambu and Khanauri borders.
The two groups added that the protests would continue for another four days. Their leaders will hold a meeting on February 28 to discuss their future strategy and a big announcement would be made the following day, they said in a statement.
