Over 300 people were booked for damaging public property and violating prohibitory orders during farmers protest in Haryana.
The Haryana Police on Friday booked state Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and 300 unidentified people for damaging public property and violating prohibitory orders, a day after farmers clashed with cops during a protest. BKU Thursday held a state-level protest at Pipli town near Kurukshetra in Haryana, rejecting the farm ordinances promulgated by the Union government. Police had to use force to disperse the protesters and restore the traffic on the Ambala-Delhi national highway.
Here's why farmers in Haryana are agitating
- Members of the BKU and other farm bodies had blocked a national highway in Kurukshetra's Pipli and clashed with police while protesting against three Union government legislations, which they claimed were "anti-farmer".
- The farmers are protesting against three Ordinances -- the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance.
- Farmers and commission agents associations have also extended support to the protest.
- Protesters were saying that the Ordinances were not only against the interest of the farmers but were also against the Constitution of India.
- A large number of farmers and commission agents from Hisar, Sirsa, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Jind districts were not allowed to reach the protest venue.
- Police had resorted to a lathicharge when farmers coming from the Shahbad area pushed their way to the protest site.
- The agitating farmers smashed windowpanes of a fire brigade vehicle and pelted police with stones. Three separate FIRs were registered at the Sadar police station in Thanesar.
- These FIRs have been registered against Gurnam Singh Charuni and several unknown people for unlawful assembly, causing damage to property and preventing government employees from performing their duty, SHO Naresh Kumar said.
- The FIRs also include charges for the violation of the National Highway Act and the Disaster Management Act, he said.
- Meanwhile, the Shahbad Markanda police lodged cases against 300 unknown people.
- SHO Devinder Kumar said the attempt to murder charge was also added to the FIR as many tractor-borne farmers tried to run police personnel manning the barriers erected to stop them.
- The Kurukshetra administration had imposed prohibitory orders after the farmer bodies gave a protest call in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- However, farmers belonging to the BKU and other organisations reached Pipli in large numbers, defying the prohibitory orders.
- Challenging the BJP-JJP state government to refrain from its crude attempt to undermine the joint strength of farmers, traders and labourers, Congress leaer Surjewala said the Khattar government should know that Haryanvis would not be deterred by such attempts and they will vigorously fight in a united way against the Modi-Khattar governments.
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