New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday visited two hospitals here to enquire about the health of the policemen injured in the violence that broke out during the farmers’ tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day, officials said.
Nearly 400 policemen were injured during the tractor parade of the farmers who have been protesting against three central farm laws at Delhi’s borders since November 2020.
“Meeting the injured Delhi Police personnel. We are proud of their courage and bravery,” Shah tweeted.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava accompanied the home minister.
During the visit, Shah interacted with the injured policemen, gifted them fruits and took stock of their health progress from the doctors.
“Today, met the brave policemen of Delhi Police in the hospital and wished them a speedy recovery. The whole country is proud of their bravery and restraint shown in the violence that took place on Republic Day,” he said in another tweet in Hindi.
The two hospitals the home minister visited were Shushrut Trauma Centre and Teerath Ram Hospital, where some of the policemen were admitted for treatment.
Both the hospitals are located in Civil Lines area in the city.
The Delhi Police on Wednesday had alleged that farmer leaders made inflammatory speeches and were involved in the violence by agitating farmers during the tractor parade that left 394 of its personnel injured, as it warned that no culprit will be spared.
Tens of thousands of farmers broke barriers to storm the national capital on Tuesday, their tractor parade to highlight their demands dissolving into unprecedented scenes of anarchy as they fought with police, overturned vehicles and delivered a national insult hoisting a religious flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a privilege reserved for India’s tricolour.
From Rajpath to Red Fort, the day unfolded in scenes of contrasts. One that Indians have seen for seven decades and the other that seared itself into collective memory with its imagery of protesters demanding a repeal of the three farm laws storming the Mughal era monument, the centrepiece of India’s Independence Day celebrations.
Clashes broke out in multiple places, leading to violence in well-known landmarks of Delhi and its suburbs, amid waves of violence that ebbed and flowed through the day. A protester died after his tractor overturned near ITO, one of the major flashpoints of trouble.
Also read: Delhi Police registers criminal case against farmers under UAPA for R-Day violence