Singhu: Violence broke out at the Singhu border Friday between farmers and a group of men, including members of right-wing group Hindu Sena.
Police had to use lathi-charge and deploy tear gas shells on both the groups to disperse the mob.
A police official stationed at Singhu said SHO Alipur Pradeep Paliwal suffered injuries in the violence as he was attacked with a sword during the clash. The official said the perpetrator has been detained.
The group, raising ‘Hindu Sena Zindabad’ slogans, claimed to be the residents of Bawana and Narela. They demanded that the Singhu protest site be cleared as it is creating problems for the residents in the area.
They also raised slogans against the farmers, accusing them of being Khalistan supporters, and alleged that they insulted the national flag on Republic Day by hoisting the Nishan Sahib flag at the Red Fort.
Reached for comment, Vishnu Gupta, founder and president of Hindu Sena, said the outfit’s representatives went to Singhu to tell the protesters to leave as “Khalistan elements had infiltrated the protest”. He also said the “protesters have turned Singhu into Shaheen Bagh”.
The farmers, meanwhile, alleged that the group threw “petrol bombs” at the protest site. They had come armed with sticks, the farmers claimed.
Police, however, said the situation is now under control and that sufficient deployment has been made. Deployment of the police, CRPF, and Rapid Action Force personnel has been stepped up, and all entry and exit points remain closed with barricades, except a small lane for local residents to commute.
ThePrint reached Special CP, Sanjay Singh, and Intelligence Special CP, Devendra Pathak, through calls and messages for an official comment in the matter, but there was no response till the time of publishing this report.
The clash comes three days after the Republic Day violence that took place during the farmers’ tractor rally. Over 300 police personnel and several farmers were left injured, while one farmer died in the violence.
A day after Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait’s emotional speech, protesters from Sonipat Friday arrived to join the protests at Singhu. On Thursday midnight, large groups of protesters had reached Ghazipur. The crowd at both these places had thinned after the R-Day violence as many farmers had left anticipating arrests.
Also read: Farmers angry about R-Day violence, says RSS affiliate, seeks action against protesters
‘They called us anti-nationals’
A farmer, Karnal Singh, whose hand was injured in the Friday’s clash, said, “They threw stones at us first and started sloganeering against us, calling us anti-nationals and threatening us. Today we were patient, tomorrow we won’t be.”
Darnal Singh, another farmer who suffered injuries on his shoulder, echoed similar claims and said these are “fringe elements” employed by the RSS to force the farmers to leave the protest site.
A senior police officer, who didn’t want to be named, said a case will be registered in the matter soon.
“Some locals today clashed with the protestors and there was violence. We had to push them back and SHO Alipur was also injured in the process,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police in a statement said that around 200 local villagers had gone to meet the leaders of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee to ask them to vacate the area.
“This was resisted by some farmers and pushing-pulling of the police barricades kept to secure the langar tents ensued. During this, stone-pelting started. While inspector Pradeep, SHO PS Alipur, was pacifying the farmers to stop stone-pelting from their side, he was suddenly attacked by a sword-wielding person, who was subsequently overpowered and apprehended from the spot. The officer sustained grievous sword injuries and other 5 police persons also got injured,” the statement said.
Accused Ranjeet Singh, who attacked the SHO with sword, was arrested from the spot. As many as 43 others have also been arrested.
Police said a criminal case under various IPC sections has been registered at Alipur police station.
Also read: Not shot but crushed by tractor — post mortem on farmer who died in Delhi protests reveals
‘Khalistan protesters have blocked roads’
Hindu Sena founder Gupta, meanwhile, told ThePrint “after what happened on 26 January, those protestors who are Khalistani and have blocked roads, creating so much inconvenience to the public, must leave”.
“Also we will not allow them to put their flags here. Our Hindu Sena workers, who are also locals, went to the spot to ensure they leave. This was not a Hindu Sena activity,” he said.
“These protesters have turned Singhu into Shaheen Bagh and we will not let that happen,” he added.
Gupta said that initially there was no plan to “reveal the name of Hindu Sena” at the protest site, but everyone got to know after the workers started raising Hindu Sena slogans.
“The plan was not to reveal the name of the organisation they are from. But they started raising slogans there,” he said.
Gupta also tweeted, “Today the local Hindu army activists along with residents of the area shouted slogans against the Khalistani supporters among the farmers and appealed to them to vacate the road.”
आज स्थानीय हिंदू सेना के कार्यकर्ताओ ने स्थानीय क्षेत्र वासियों के साथ मिलकर किसानों के बीच सिंघु बॉडर जाके खालिस्तानी समर्थको के खिलाफ जमके नारेबाजी क व किसानों से रोड खाली करने की अपील की ! @ANI@IndiaToday @ABPNews @PTI_News @indiatvnews pic.twitter.com/yx1pczvOMz
— Vishnu Gupta? (@VishnuGupta_HS) January 28, 2021
Meanwhile in Ghazipur, thousands of farmers, especially from western Uttar Pradesh, mobilised in huge numbers.
While farmer union leaders said it’s difficult to keep a count of how many people are here, BKU national spokesperson Bhupender Yadav said almost 40,000 farmers, mostly from western Uttar Pradesh, have joined the movement, inspired by Tikait’s emotional speech.
“They attacked us when we were mourning the death of our 24 year-old-youth, when we were in shock by the happenings of 26 January violence. Farmers are angry at the Modi government,” he said.
Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav, meanwhile, called for even greater mobilisation.
“If you’re hearing me tonight, come, join your brothers at Ghazipur in this historic movement,” said Yadav from the stage in Ghazipur. Yadav has been named in one of the 33 FIRs filed by the Delhi Police in connection with the Republic Day violence.
(With inputs from Ananya Bhardwaj)
Also read: Call off talks with farmers, merits and demerits of farm laws no longer an issue
I wonder about these rallies and protests; allowed by our hallowed constitution? Lakhs of people on public property, denying its use to other citizens, in itself a violation of basic rights, creating confusion and in many cases vandalizing all in the way. The police can’t, of course, use any force to control them and in all cases suffer unwanted causalities. In the end all that is left is damage and a bad taste.
Hey Indians, are you under the impression that a few “Union leaders” who have a huge disconnect with the crowd (turned into a mob) they profess to “command” can control these lakhs of disoriented people in various state of mind, themselves unsure of what really is happening? If so, I am sure you must be actually joking.
These shenanigans are allowed in the name of “Right to protest” as if that is the ultimate in all rights. Part of the media hail it as acts of democracy. This same media has failed miserably to pursue our elected representatives to have meaningful discussion on National matters in the hallowed Houses – but are vociferous to give a “ball by ball” commentary on these “protests”.
And we want to progress, become a world leader. If we allow these to continue, we will surely remain a laggard democracy and China and the rest of the world will race far ahead, as they probably are already.
Whose Nation is it anyway?
There are lot of poor Indians who earn a honest living wihout demanding free money from government. These not so poor Punjabi farmers need to earn their money.