Punjab cops resort to baton-charge, water cannon as farmers try to march to SAD event

Chandigarh, Sep 2 (PTI) Police on Thursday used batons and a water cannon to disperse a group of farmers who allegedly tried to force their way inside the venue of an event of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab's Moga, which was being addressed by its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Police claimed some of the protesters scuffled with them, broke barricades and hurled stones in a bid to force their way inside the venue in Moga's grain market which is near a national highway.

Reacting to the incident, the SAD chief, who has started a 100-day "yatra" across 100 assembly constituencies in Punjab, told reporters that those who were protesting were "not farmers, but owed allegiance to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party".

Four protesters and three policemen were stated to have been injured in the incident. Some vehicles were also damaged in the incident while some protesters allegedly mangled hoardings and banners put up for the SAD rally.

Police claimed the protesters were warned multiple times before force was used.

"Some protesters resorted to pelting of stones after which police used force and a water cannon to disperse them. They had also blocked the national highway near the spot which was later cleared," Moga's Superintendent of Police Dhruman Nimbale said.

He added that around 35 of the 600 protesters were detained and the situation was brought under control.

Sukhbir Singh Badal was addressing the function in the grain market when protesters tried to force their way inside. Some of the protesting farmers said they wanted to question Badal on certain issues but were stopped by the police.

"They tried to break the barricades. When stones were pelted, we had to baton-charge in a restrained manner to disperse them," the police officer said.

Some protesters claimed that they were holding peaceful protest when police used a water cannon.  A protesting farmer said they have been holding protests at the borders of the national capital for over nine months but political parties were "more concerned with power and only shedding crocodile tears" for peasants.

A few days ago too, the SAD had faced a protest by a group of farmers during their event in Baghapurana in the Moga district.

SAD leader Bikram Singh Singh Majithia said, "The attempts to disrupt the massive Akali gatherings being organised as part of the party's 'Gal Punjab Di' campaign were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy of the Congress in conjunction with the Centre to disturb the hard-won peace in Punjab and impose president's rule in the state." "The disruptive conspiracy has the twin objective of postponing the assembly elections in Punjab and defaming the peaceful farmers' movement," he alleged.

Majithia claimed that senior farmer leaders were also wary of this "conspiracy" which was why they gave clear cut directions to the protesters to only oppose programmes of BJP leaders and not disturb any other event of any political party in Punjab.

"The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has made it clear that protests against any other party except the BJP would only help the Central government and harm the cause of the farmers," he said. PTI SUN VSD NSD NSD