Iron nails fixed on roads at Ghazipur border being 'repositioned': Delhi Police clarifies

The Delhi Police on Thursday clarified that the iron nails studded on roads at Ghazipur border to restrict the movement of protesting farmers are being "repositioned." The statement comes after videos and photos of workers removing the nails near Ghazipur border surfaced on social media.

'Nails are just being repositioned' 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Deepak Yadav asserted that the security arrangements at the border will remain the same. "Videos and photos are getting circulated in which it is shown that nails are being taken off at Ghazipur. These are just being repositioned. Security arrangement at the border remains the same," he said.

The Delhi Police recently cemented nails near barricades at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) and Tikri (Delhi-Haryana) borders. Barbed wire and cement barricades have been planted on the roads. Drones have also been deployed to monitor the protesters.

Earlier in the day, opposition leaders including Saugata Roy, Supriya Sule, Kanimozhi and Harsimrat Kaur Badal reached the Ghazipur border to meet the protesting farmers. However, they were stopped by the police. 

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'Concrete walls at protest sites won't help'

Meanwhile, former PM and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) MP HD Devegowda on Thursday during Rajya Sabha session condemned the violence on Republic Day and said that the Centre's decision to put concrete walls at farmers' protest sites won't help. "We condemn actions of certain miscreants on Republic Day, but farmers are not responsible for it. They should not be punished. Centre's decision to put concrete walls at the protest sites won't help. The government must end the matter peacefully," he said.

"Farmers are not at all responsible for the Republic Day incident some anti-social elements are. The matter is a state subject, it's in the concurrent list. State government's opinion also has to be taken," JD(S) leader said.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi's borders for weeks, seeking a repeal of the three agriculture laws. They claim that the new laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system. But the Centre says the laws will only give farmers more options to sell their produce.

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(With agency inputs)