Farmers at Red Fort during their tractor parade on Republic Day in New Delhi.
The Delhi Police has claimed that pro-Khalistani elements were behind the violence on the national capital roads earlier this week. Police said that there are evidence pointing towards involvement of Khalistani sympathisers in the rampage that left over 400 cops injured.
Police said that the violence was a well plotted conspiracy and efforts are underway to identify suspicious twitter accounts that provoked the crowd. Also, six individuals are on the police radar who are said to be the mastermid of the violence.
According to news agency ANI, intelligence agencies had sounded an alarm about the possibility of external elements hijacking the tractor parade and resorting to violence.
READ MORE: Crowd swells at Ghazipur border, Rakesh Tikait says 'farmers won't vacate'
On January 26, thousands of protesting farmers, who reached ITO from the Ghazipur border, clashed with the police. Many of them, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument. They hoisted flags on the domes and placed the flagstaff at the ramparts of the national monument, where the national flag is unfurled by the prime minister on Independence Day.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.
READ MORE: Anna Hazare to begin indefinite hunger strike from tomorrow in support of farmers
