Haryana police, which lobbed at least a dozen teargas shells and used water cannons twice amid heated arguments with the protesters. | ANI
Chandigarh: Protesting farmers on Sunday evening suspended their `Delhi chalo’ foot-march for the day after several of them were injured in the teargas shelling by the Haryana security personnel at Shambhu border.
Stating that the farmers ‘jatha’ (a group of 101 farmers) which had peacefully tried to move towards Delhi on foot but was stopped by Haryana police which lobbed teargas shells, had been called back towards evening, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that at six farmers hurt in the teargas shelling. He said that one protester who was seriously hurt rushed to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. He also claimed police used rubber bullets at protesters.
However, Haryana police, which lobbed at least a dozen teargas shells and used water cannons twice amid heated arguments with the protesters, was also seen at one point of time offering tea, biscuits and showering flower petals on them. However, Pandher termed the police gesture of showering flowers and offering biscuits and tea as merely a gimmick.
The police held that the teargas shells were lobbed to disperse the farmers’ made repeated bids to cross over barricades; there were over 300 farmers, in place of 101, who had reached the fencing and some of the also started pulling the iron mesh which was the last line of defence on Haryana side, police held.
The police personnel and farmers were also seen engaged in heated arguments after the former asked farmers for requisite permission to take out the protest march as well as their identities to match with their list of 101 farmers given to them.
On farmers’ next action, Pandher said that the farmers would hold meetings and take a decision in the context by Monday evening.
Earlier in the day, a ‘jatha’ of 101 farmers resumed their protest foot-march to Delhiat the Shambhu border around noon. The farmers apparently came prepared to counter teargas as some of them could be seen having their faces covered wearing mask or protective eyewear and several carrying wet jute bags so as to put them on the teargas shells so as to mitigate its smoke impact.
It may be recalled that a score of farmers have been camping at Shambhu border as well as Khanauri border of the two states near Jind, since February 13 of this year to press for their various demands including minimum support price for their crops and loan waiver. The stir also witnessed violent conflicts between farmers and security forces twice – on February 13 at Shambhu border and on February 21 Khanauri border.
