Farmers Movement Archive

Clash in Faridabad as cops stop tractors

PALWAL: Police lathicharged protesters and punctured tyres of tractors at the Faridabad-Palwal border near Softa village on Tuesday in an attempt to stop farmers from marching towards Delhi via Ballabhgarh. More than 10 farmers were injured as some of them tried to breach police barricades. According to police, a few cops were also injured in the clash. Later in the evening, about 50 tractors were allowed to go till Ballabhgarh after farmer leaders met local police officers and administration officials. The police officers assured the farmers that no cases would be registered against them and a few tractors that were impounded would be released. The farmers’ demand to allow about 100 tractors to go till Faridabad was denied by the local administration and police. “While they accepted two demands, they were adamant on not allowing farmers to enter Faridabad. We consider this as a victory as we resolved the issue peacefully even though we were off to a rough start,” said Ratan Singh Sorout, district president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), who was one of the leaders to talk to the officials. While police accused the protesters of breaching the barricade to take a route that was not open for them, the farmers claimed that the cops had changed their plan to allow them to protest peacefully. More than 3,000 police personnel were stationed at Softa, along with water cannons and teargas shells. The cops had also blocked the highway by parking trucks, trailers and JCB machines. “We had requested the police to allow us to march till the Badarpur border. When they cited law and order issues in Delhi, we urged them to allow us to take the rally till Faridabad at least. But they did not listen to us. When we insisted, they started lathicharge. They even pelted stones and injured many farmers,” Rahul Tawar, a member of BKU, said adding that he was injured too. Police denied the allegations and said the protesters turned violent first. “Had we not stopped them, they would have driven the tractors over us. While I narrowly escaped being run over by a tractor, a few cops have sustained injuries. We used minimum force and that too in self-defence,” said Palwal SP Deepak Gehlawat. The rally had more than 5,000 farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. While the protesters had informed the administration that 500 tractors would be at the rally, more than 1,500 tractors rolled onto the Delhi-Agra highway around 10am. About 5km away, farmers were stopped by more than 200 police personnel at Kuslipur village. They asked the protesters not to enter the city limits before 11am in order to avoid disturbing the Republic Day celebrations. But the farmers pushed ahead. The cops, who were outnumbered, let the rally proceed. A stream of tractors with Tricolours mounted on them and playing patriotic songs drove through Palwal district through the day. At many places along the route, the farmers were garlanded by locals as they shouted slogans.

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Gurgaon