News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi police

  • Farmers protests: BKU members stay put at UP Gate despite government showing iron fist

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Proceeding swiftly in the Republic Day violence case, the Delhi Police on Thursday issued 44 look-out circulars (LOC) against three dozen farm union leaders. They have been asked to join the probe by January 31 and directed to bring their passports along.

    Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government started to clear the Ghazipur agitation site.  LoCs are used by immigration officials to prevent accused persons from leaving the country.

    The process of seizure of passports has been initiated by the home ministry and is a major decision, officials said, explaining that all people who have been named by Delhi Police in the FIRs will not be carrying Indian passports till the matter is pending.

    Officials said the decision was taken on Thursday morning by Union Home Minister Amit Shah who has been holding a series of meeting with top officials of the Home Ministry and Delhi police since Tuesday when the large scale violence took place in the national capital during the farmers tractor rally.

    Shah has been continuously monitoring the situation in Delhi, a home ministry official said, adding that the minister is expected to chair a second meeting on Thursday night to review the law and order situation in the capital. 

    Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday said that two brass finials on top of the minar were found missing after chaos ensued in the Red Fort complex but were later found in a damaged state.The case was transferred to Delhi police’s special cell to investigate “international angle” in the ensuing violence at Red Fort. Police has meanwhile invoked a criminal case under provisions of Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sedition charges in the violence took place at Red Fort.

    ALSO READ | Delhi violence: Actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu hits out at farmer leaders

    Besides the LOCs, Delhi Police has issued notice to 20 other farmer unions leaders including Yogendra Yadav, Rakesh Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal Surjeet Singh Phool, Gurnam Singh Chaduni and others in connection with the violence that took place on Republic Day in Delhi.

    According to a senior police officer, notice has been issued to all farmer union leaders who attended the meeting with the Delhi Police, agreed to all 36 conditions and signed the undertaking to conduct the rally on Republic Day.

    Around 25 FIRs have been registered by the Delhi police in the matter and 19 accused arrested and 50 persons have been detained so far. Around 394 Police personnel have been injured in Tuesday’s violence.

    Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government since early Thursday morning removed water and electricity supply from the protest site at Ghazipur in a bid to clear the site.

    According to official sources, directions were issued from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the Ghaziabad administration to remove the protestors from the site and clear the road.

    The UP police and local administration has served ultimatum to farmers to vacate Ghazipur border by late night.

    Hundreds of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Friday as the crowd swelled there overnight, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration’s ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site.

    On a call of the BKU, more farmers from western Uttar Pradesh districts such as Meerut, Baghpat, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad and Bulandshahr reached the UP Gate by early morning to join the stir, even as the security forces at the protest site thinned out overnight.

    A confrontation was building up at the UP Gate in Ghazipur even as frequent power cuts were witnessed on Thursday evening at the protest site, where BKU members, led by Rakesh Tikait, are staying put since November 28 last year.

    Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey and Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani visited the protest site post midnight to review the situation there even as hundreds of security personnel in anti-riot gears were deployed since Thursday.

    Many of these personnel, including those from the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), left the protest site in the dead of the night following official instructions.

    Flanked by supporters at 1 am, Tikait remained at the centrestage of the protest site — the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which has been barricaded from both sides, prohibiting regular traffic movement.

    Around 500 protesters stayed put at the UP Gate with more pouring in from western Uttar Pradesh in the night on the call of the BKU, an influential farmers’ union in north India.

    “Excess security force from the protest site has been withdrawn and only a minimal deployment of personnel remains there,” a Ghaziabad police officer told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

    “Tension was building at the UP Gate due to an excessive deployment of security personnel since Thursday evening,” he added.

    According to the officer, some BKU protestors were served notices under section 133 (removal of public nuisance) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on Thursday.

    Several protesters waved the tricolour with some waving flags of farmer unions such as the Kisan Ekta Manch amid a continuous sloganeering of “jai jawan, jai kisan”, while many of them were lying down on mattresses covered in blankets as they braved the bone-chilling cold and wind.

    “Zaroorat padhi to khade rehke dharna denge, tum dharne pe baithe rehne ki baat karte ho (I can protest while standing up and you are asking me whether I am going to continue my sit-in protest),” Jagat Singh Rathi, 78, said.

    With a muffler tied around his head and a stick in his hand for support while walking, the septuagenarian from Meerut said he has been at the BKU’s protest since the agitation was launched on November 28 last year.

    Asked if he would vacate the protest site following the administration’s communication, Rathi said, “(UP Gate) khaali nahi karenge. We have not seen any such order to vacate the protest site. When the Supreme Court has said farmers have a right to protest, then what? We will do it.”

    Ankit Sahrawat, a farmer from Muzaffarnagar, said he reached the UP Gate early on Friday along with 40-50 people.

    “More farmers from western Uttar Pradesh districts will reach here. Everybody has condemned what happened in Delhi on Republic Day but now they have made Chaudhary sahab (Rakesh Tikait) cry. Unke aansu nikle hain, wo sahan nahi hoga (Farmers will not tolerate that Tikait had to shed tears),” Sahrawat, who is around 35 years of age, told reporters.

    Tikait says not leaving site till last breath

    But as things stood till late Thursday evening, farmers seemed to be in no mood to relent. Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union, gave a fiery speech on Thursday threatening to commit suicide if the farm laws were not repealed.

    “I will stay here till my last breath, government is trying to forcefully kill our protest, government can do whatever they feel like, if bullets are fired then also we will continue to protest peacefully. We are here to talk to the government on repeal of farm laws and not going back till that is done.”

    Tikait further attacked the BJP government, saying that the administration is trying to frame farmers by “planting” their own members into the protesting group and these were the same people who ultimately led the violence on Republic Day at the Red Fort.

    Meanwhile, heavy police presence was reported at Singhu border as the police barricaded a portion of the road in order to restrict the protesting farmers from coming to one side from the other.

    Hundreds of Bharatiya Kisan Union members stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway early on Friday, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration’s ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site.

    A confrontation was building up at the UP Gate in Ghazipur even as frequent power cuts were witnessed in the evening at the protest site, where BKU members, led by Rakesh Tikait, are staying put since November 28.

    In a post-midnight review of situation, Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey and Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani visited the protest site even as hundreds of security personnel in anti-riot gears were deployed since Thursday.

    Flanked by supporters at 1 am, Tikait remained at the centre stage of the protest site — the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which has been barricaded from both the sides, prohibiting regular traffic movement.

    Around 500 protestors stayed put at UP Gate with more pouring in from western Uttar Pradesh in the night on the call of the BKU, an influential farmers’ union in North India.

    “Excess security force from the protest site has been withdrawn and only a minimal deployment of personnel remains there,” a Ghaziabad police officer told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

    “The tension was building at UP Gate due to excessive deployment of force since Thursday evening,” the officer added.

    Several protestors waved the tricolour with some waving flags of farmer unions like Kisan Ekta Manch amid a continuous sloganeering of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”, while many were lying down on mattresses covered in blankets as they braved bone-chilling cold and wind.

    “Zaroorat padi to khade rehke dharna denge, tum dharne pe baithe rehne ki baat karte ho (I can protest while standing up and you are asking whether I am going to continue my sit-in protest),” Jagat Singh Rathi, 78, said.

    With a muffler tied around his head and a stick in his hand for support while walking, the septuagenarian from Meerut said that he has been at the BKU’s protest since its beginning on November 28.

    Asked if he would vacate the protest site following the administration’s communication, he said, “(UP Gate) khaali nahi karenge. We have not seen any such order to vacate the protest site. When the Supreme Court has said that farmers have a right to protest then what? We will do it.”

    ALSO READ | Farmers’ stir comes to an end in UP’s Baghpat; protesters allege use of force by police

    The “verbal” communication from the district administration to the BKU on Thursday came close on the heels of three farmer unions withdrawing their protest against the three farm laws over the violence in Delhi on Republic Day.

    “Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey has communicated to the protestors camping at the UP Gate at Delhi border to vacate the spot by tonight or the administration will remove them,” a district official had told PTI.

    Crowd turns thin at protest sites

    The crowd at the protest sites in Delhi’s Singhu and Tikri borders was visibly thin on Thursday, even though the farmer unions said it was because the protesters, who had come to the national capital to take part in January 26 march, have returned home.

    Additional police personnel were deployed at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders — the three main sites where farmers have been protesting the Centre’s new farm laws — as a preventive measure in the view of the violence on Republic Day that left 394 policemen injured and one protestor dead.

    The Singhu border, one of the major protest sites that has been home to thousands of farmers for over two months, was noticeably less populated on Thursday than what it used to be before the Republic day, or even before that.

    The number of tractors have reduced, and so have the protestors, while reaching from one end to the other end of the street, that were chock-a-block till last week, can be now done in no time.

    Farmers said it was because the protestors who had come to Delhi specifically to participate in the tractor parade on January 26 have returned home.

    “There is no dearth in our spirits to continue our fight against the three farm laws.

    The fact that Singhu looks empty is a mere optical illusion.

    “Just because there were too many people in the run up to the parade, now that they have gone back, it looks like this,” said Baldev Singh, general secretary, All India Kisan Sabha.

    The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha, however, on the eve of Republic Day had announced that all the farmers, who would join the tractor march, would stay back and living arrangements would be made for them.

    According to Baldev Singh, the protest site also appeared to be less crowded because there were protestors who had been camping here since the very first day, and had waited till Republic Day before returning home.

    “But then some other members of their families will join us.

    The protest is only getting stronger,” Baldev Singh said.

    The agitation to demand the repeal of the three laws was their “single point agenda” and they were not going to move from Singhu until they are met, added Ashwini Kumar, district president, Punjab Kisan Union.

    Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Urgrahan, whose organisation has been leading protest at the Tikri border, said there were many people who had come to Delhi to participate in the tractor parade and now they have left for their home.

    That’s why the site appears to be less crowded.

    It is perhaps the low population at the Singhu border that has caused several service providers to temporarily shut shop, including langars, ironing service, and the Kissan Mall.

    At the Singhu protest site, most dismissed the idea of the thinning crowd and said the services were unavailable because they were restocking supplies.

    “The agitation is as strong as ever. People are going home and returning. Kissan Mall is shut today only because we are waiting for some fresh supplies. It will be open again from tomorrow,” said a volunteer of Khalsa Aid that runs the mall.

    A similar response was shared by Roshan Singh, who has been running a langar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at the site for nearly two months.

    On Thursday afternoon, the langar was deserted and the stoves were out.

    “We served food in the morning but are closed now because we ran out of products. Our enthusiasm about the protest has not at all decreased,” he said.

    The set up where the ironing services were being provided has simply disappeared.

    For Gurjeet Singh, a farmer from Patiala, the movement continues to remain solid.

    While he arrived at Singhu in November with a group of 20, only five are currently present at the site.

    “Many people have just gone back to take care of things at home. Like one person in our group has gone back for his sister’s wedding, another has gone back because of a medical issue.”

    “What happened on Republic Day was the government’s way of maligning our movement, but it has had no impact whatsoever on the enthusiasm of our agitation and we are stronger than ever,” he said.

    As far as the future of the farmers protest is concerned, the February 1 farmers march to the Parliament stands postponed, and farmer leaders are chalking out their further strategy.

    Meanwhile, a fast would be observed on January 30, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, said Baldev Singh.

    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 late November.

    The Delhi Police on Wednesday had alleged that farmer leaders made inflammatory speeches and were involved in the violence during the tractor parade, as it warned that no culprit will be spared.

    The police have filed 33 FIRs in connection with the violence during the rally.

    Nineteen people have been arrested and around 50 detained.

    15 more arrested in last 24 hours: Delhi Police

    The Delhi Police on Thursday detained 15 more people for their suspected involvement in the violence during the farmers’ tractor parade, officials said.

    Nearly 30 farmers who were camping at DDA Ground in Burari were also moved towards the Singhu border to clear the site, they said.

    The police also stepped up security at the Red Fort, which was stormed by a large number of protesting farmers who deviated from the designated parade route on Tuesday, and Singhu and Tikri borders, the officials said.

    Thousands of farmers protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws had clashed with the police during the tractor rally called by farmer unions to highlight their demand for the repeal of the legislations.

    Many of the protesters reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    Some of them even hoisted religious flags on its domes and the flagstaff at the ramparts.

    “Around 15 people have been detained for their suspected involvement in the violence on Republic Day and for violating laws,” Additional Delhi Police PRO Anil Mittal said.

    Nearly 30 farmers who were protesting at DDA Ground in Burari have been moved towards the Singhu border, he said.

    The ground will be cleared soon, the police said.

    A senior police officer said security at the Red Fort has been stepped up after Tuesday’s incident.

    Police personnel have also been deployed in large numbers at the city’s Singhu and Tikri borders, the officer said.

    Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at various border points of Delhi, including Singhu and Tikri, since November 28, demanding the repeal of the new farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.

    Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police said its Special Cell will investigate the “conspiracy” and “criminal designs” behind the violence on Republic Day.

    As of Thursday, the police had filed 25 criminal cases, arrested 19 people and detained 200 in connection with the violence.

    Nearly 400 police personnel were injured in the clashes with the protesters, according to officials.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Antiquities inside Red Fort missing, tableaux damaged during R-day violence, says Prahlad Patel

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Two brass finials on top of the minar were found missing after chaos ensued in Red Fort complex on Republic Day but were found later in broken state, said Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday. 

    The ticket counter was destroyed, Lahori Gate vandalised and lights broken due to the protests, Patel said. “The financial damage of lights and ticket counter can be assessed. But one cannot put a price on the archaeological remains of it,” said Patel, adding the heritage value of the Red Fort complex needs to be preserved.

    In the first floor, an interpretation centre which was under construction had suffered damages too, the Minister said. The biggest loss was at the ‘most high security area’, where finials on a minar were found missing but later found in a broken state, he said.

    The ASI will lodge an FIR on the damages caused. “The tableaux are kept there after Republic Day and people come to view them for a period of seven to 15 days. The tableau by the Ministry of Culture, the Ram Mandir tableau…most of the other tableaux have been tampered with too. This is unfortunate,” said Patel.

    One more farmers union calls off protest  

    BKU (Lok Shakti) chief Sheoraj Singh on Thursday said  that the protest has been called off. BKU spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri said, “The protest has been called off,” He farmers’ union had been camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal since December 2, demanding withdrawal of the three new farm laws, legalisation of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and implementation of the recommendation of Swaminathan Committee’s report. Singh also met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.ALSO WATCH:

  • Samajwadi Party demands FIR against Delhi Police, top BJP leaders for R-Day violence

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Ram Govind Chaudhary on Thursday said instead of farmers, an FIR should be registered against the Delhi police commissioner and top BJP leaders for the violence in New Delhi on Republic Day.

    “The chaos and the unfurling of a religious flag at the Red Fort on January 26 is a conspiracy of the Delhi police, which is under the home ministry and the top leadership of the BJP, to weaken the farmers’ agitation.

    For this, the Delhi Police and the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party should be condemned.

    Instead of farmers, an FIR should be registered against the Delhi police commissioner and the BJP leaders, whose names have surfaced in connection with Deep Sidhu…,” the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader said in a statement here.

    “Even after this big conspiracy, farmers did not lose patience. It is not a minor thing. I salute the patience of the farmers and once again demand from the Centre that instead of weakening the farmers’ agitation, it should withdraw the farm laws.

    The farmers of the entire country are shocked by the conspiracy and attitude of people occupying top positions,” he added.

    The SP, under the leadership of its president Akhilesh Yadav, is and will remain in support of the ongoing farmers’ movement, Chaudhary said.

  • Police lodge case of sedition in connection with Red Fort incidents on Republic Day

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has registered a sedition case in connection with the violence at Red Fort during a tractor parade by farmers on Republic Day, officials said on Thursday.

    According to a senior police officer, a case under section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered and the incident is being investigated.

    Earlier, the Delhi Police had named actor Deep Sidhu and gangster-turned-social activist Lakha Sidhana in an FIR lodged in connection with the Red Fort incident.

    Thousands of protesting farmers, who reached ITO from the Ghazipur border, clashed with the police.

    Many of them, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument.

    They hoisted flags on the domes and placed the flagstaff at the ramparts of the national monument, where the national flag is unfurled by the prime minister on Independence Day.

    The Red Fort will remain closed for visitors from January 27 to January 31, according to an order issued by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

    While the order does not mention the reason behind the closure, it refers to earlier orders of January 6 and January 18, whereby the iconic monument was closed from January 19 to January 22 due to a bird-flu alert.

  • Centre provoked farmers for violence to discredit anti-farm laws movement, says Shiv Sena

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: In order to discredit the sustained farmers’ movement against the farm laws, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government provoked the farmers to commit violence, the Shiv Sena alleged on Thursday.

    This comes two days after agitating farmers broke barricades to enter Delhi and indulged in vandalism across several parts of the national capital during their Kisan tractor rally organised to protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws on January 26.

    Through its mouthpiece, Saamana, the Shiv Sena said “no one will support what happened in the national capital on Republic Day.”

    Thousands of farmers have been agitating on the Singhu border for the last 60 days. Farmer leaders were saying that on January 26, they would conduct a ‘tractor parade’ in peace. But by breaking the barricades under siege by the police, the agitating farmers on their tractors entered the Delhi border and reached the Red Fort directly. The Republic Day ‘parade’ took place at Delhi’s Rajpath in the morning and the whole country was shaken by the farmers’ parade in the afternoon. There was a sudden panic in Delhi. Law and order condition was broken. Everyone is hurt by such an incident on Republic Day, it said.

    Sena attacked BJP for the violence that broke out in various parts of Delhi during a tractor rally on January 26.

    “Now, BJP has heavily come down on the agitating farmers. The programme to enter Delhi was a pre-planned program and the farmers’ movement has gone into the hands of the terrorists, according to BJP’s intelligence system. The crowd who stirred in the Red Fort was led by a young man named Deep Sidhu. It has been revealed that this Sidhu belongs to the camp of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP’s Punjab MP Sunny Deol has a close relationship with Sidhu. Farmer leaders like Rajesh Tikait say that Sidhu had been talking about revolt and separatism for the last two months by entering the crowd of farmers,” it said.

    ASO READ: Tractor parade violence and the curious case of Deep Sidhu

    “For the last 60 days, the farmers’ movement has been going on in a peaceful manner, demanding the repeal of three agricultural laws that are opposed in the interests of the country’s farmers. Despite this, there was no split in the farmer movement and the patience of the farmers was not broken. For this reason, the Central Government had to sit with folded hands. It was also said that the farmers’ movement is Khalistani. But still, the farmers remained calm,” the party added.

    According to Shiv Sena, it was the “desire of the government to discredit the movement by provoking the farmers to commit violence. If it had fulfilled its desire on January 26, then it has brought the country into disrepute.”

    “It is not right to put the responsibility of violence on farmers only. The government has done what it wanted. Its victims are farmers, policemen and young men who shed their blood,” it added.

    Sena said that if Punjab becomes turbulent again, then “it will not be good for the country.”

    “The farmers involved in the movement are from Punjab and they do not have the support of the whole country, this claim of the government is wrong. The whole country stands with Punjab,” it said.

    Commenting upon the vandalism and unfurling of the flag in Red Fort ramparts, Shiv Sena said, “The tricolour is flying over the Red Fort. BJP-backed media started shouting that agitating farmers insulted the tricolour. But the veil of lies was torn. Sidhu, who was leading the agitators on the Red Fort, has a relationship with the BJP. No one put a hand on the tricolour. A religious flag was hoisted on the second dome of the Red Fort, no one is ready to show this truth. Those who attacked the police should be apprehended and prosecuted. The government should deal strictly with those taking up the law.”

    The party stated that the three agricultural laws are not the present and future of the country.

    “Somebody has an interest in it. That is why the oppression of farmers is going on. It is not in the national interest,” it alleged.

    Nineteen people have so far been arrested and over 25 criminal cases registered by Delhi Police in connection with the violence that broke out during the farmers’ tractor march on Tuesday, Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said on Wednesday.

    Farmers broke barricades to enter Delhi and indulged in vandalism across several parts of the national capital during their Kisan tractor rally organised to protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws. Several public and private properties were damaged in acts of vandalism by the rioting mob.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

  • Congress seeks Amit Shah’s sacking, dubs him ‘weakest’ Home Minister 

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Congress sought the immediate removal of Amit Shah for Tuesday’s violence, saying that it was a “colossal” intelligence failure for which the Union home minister is directly responsible. Alleging that the violence during tractor parade was a conspiracy to malign farmers agitation, the party claimed Shah is the weakest home minister seen in the history of India in last 73 years. 

    For the second time in less than a year under Shah’s leadership, the Congress said, the national capital was pushed to the brink of unabated, unchecked and uncontrolled violence. On allegations by farmer unions that Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu incited the crowd to hoist Khalsa flag at Red Fort, the party said: “A BJP insider who was acting at the behest of Amit Shah as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to discredit the peaceful farmers’ agitation.”

    ​ALSO READ | Tractor parade violence: Amit Shah orders police to go hard on violators

    “If the over 60 day-long peaceful agitation by farmers was infiltrated by violent, anti-social elements as part of a conspiracy, why did the intelligence agencies and the Union home ministry not know about this. And if they did, then why didn’t they do anything to prevent the anarchy we all witnessed,” said Congress media in charge Randeep Surjewala.

    ALSO WATCH:

    Similarly, the CPI (M)  claimed that Tuesday’s violence was the handiwork of agent provocateurs with links to the BJP. “The Politburo of the CPI(M) calls upon the Central government to immediately announce the repeal of these laws and move towards this end in the forthcoming budget session of the Parliament,” it said.

  • Amit Shah must be sacked for allowing violence in Delhi during tractor parade: Congress

    The Congress also accused the Modi government of being part of a concerted conspiracy to malign the farmers #39; agitation by allowing some miscreants to enter the Red Fort complex.

  • Tractor parade violence: Amit Shah orders police to go hard on violators 

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Union Home Minister Amit Shah issued directions to the Delhi Police to take strict action against those who indulged in violence on Tuesday during the farmers’ tractor rally.  In a two-hour meeting with senior officials from the home ministry, Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police, Shah reviewed in detail the security situation in the national capital after violence broke out at farmers’ rally in several areas

    At the meeting in his residence, Shah also ordered additional paramilitary forces were deployed in Delhi. Around 15 additional companies of paramilitary forces will be deployed at the sites of violence such as ITO, Nangloi and Ghazipur, sources said. The 15 companies of Central Armed Police Forces include five companies of CRPF already deployed on Monday.

    Shah also asserted that law and order is restored as soon as possible, sources said, adding that he sought a detailed account of how things went out of control on Tuesday. Wielding sticks, clubs and holding the Tricolour and union flags, tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors broke barriers, clashed with police and entered the city from various points marching towards the Red Fort and hoisting the Nishan Sahib flag there on Republic Day.

    Prior to this spate of violence, hundreds of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and UP, have been camping peacefully at several Delhi border points, including Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, since November 28. They are seeking a complete repeal of the three central agriculture laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.

    Officials said the home minister is keeping a close eye on the developments and is monitoring the situation. Among those who attended the meeting were Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava and the Intelligence Bureau director.

    Punjab, haryana on high alertHaryana and Punjab have sounded a high alert in the states and said anyone taking law into one’s hands will be dealt with strictly. Haryana DGP Manoj Yadava asked district police chiefs to be vigilant. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh asked DGP Dinkar Gupta to ensure that law and order is not deteriorated at any cost.

    kids stranded for 2 hrs at fortAround 200 artistes, including children, who were part of the R-Day parade, were rescued after they got stranded near Red Fort on Tuesday. They were rescued by police personnel after being stuck for almost two hours in the afternoon, provided refreshments and subsequently escorted away. 

  • Haryana Cabinet holds special meeting, appeals to protesting farmers to return home

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Cabinet held a special meeting here on Tuesday evening under the chairmanship of Chief Minister M L Khattar in the wake of the events that unfolded in the national capital during the tractor parade and appealed to all protesting farmers to return to their homes.

    Khattar said farmer unions had assured a peaceful tractor rally in the national capital.

    “But the events which unfolded today make it clear that this agitation is now not under the control of these farmer leaders. And the command of this agitation is now in the hands of such anarchic elements whose ideology is different from the farmers’ interests,” he said.

    ​CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES

    The chief minister issued a statement asking the farmer community to ponder over where their agitation was headed.

    “The entire Haryana cabinet, through its special meeting held today, humbly appeals to all farmers of this agitation to return to their homes. The strong need of the hour this time is that together we defeat the designs of the anti-social elements,” Khattar said.

    Earlier, he described as “most unfortunate” the incident of a protesting farmer hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort.

    Such an incident at Red Fort on Republic Day is strongly condemnable, Khattar had said.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “In a democratic setup, there is adequate space to resolve issues through dialogue,” he said, referring to the farmers who have been sitting in protest for two months near Delhi’s borders against the Centre’s new farm laws.

    But no Indian will tolerate anyone hoisting any flag other than the tricolour from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Khattar said.

    This is an insult to those freedom fighters and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of this nation, he added.

    The freedom fighters did not fight for the country’s independence to see the spread of this type of anarchy, Khattar said.

  • Didn’t remove tricolour, was only ‘symbolic protest’: Actor Deep Sidhu amid outrage over flag incident

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Amid a massive outrage over protesters hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort during the tractor rally on Republic Day, actor Deep Sidhu, who was among those present during the incident, on Tuesday sought to defend their action, saying it was a symbolic protest and they did not remove the national flag.

    In a video posted on Facebook, he said that they should not be given any communal colour or dubbed as fundamentalists or hardliners. “To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislations, we put up ‘Nishan Sahib’ and a farmer flag and also raised a slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta,” said Sidhu.

    The flag represents the country’s “unity in diversity”, he said while pointing towards the ‘Nishan Sahib’, a symbol of Sikh religion seen at all Gurdwara complexes.

    ​CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES

    He stated that the national flag was not removed from the flagpole at the Red Fort and that nobody raised a question over the country’s unity and integrity.

    Leaders across the political spectrum on Tuesday condemned the violence and the Red Fort incident, with the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor saying he supported the farmers’ protests from the start but cannot condone “lawlessness”.

    “Most unfortunate. I have supported the farmers’ protests from the start but I cannot condone lawlessness.  And on #RepublicDay no flag but the sacred tiranga should fly aloft the Red Fort,” the former Union minister said on Twitter, tagging a tweet that carried a video of the incident.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “Sidhu, who has been associated with the farmers’ agitation for the last many months, said “anger flares up” in a mass movement like this when the genuine rights of people are ignored.

    “In today’s situation, that anger flared up,” he said.

    Swaraj Abhyan leader Yogendra Yadav, who is among the leaders spearheading the agitation against the farm laws, said they had distanced Sidhu “from our protest right from the beginning”.

    “When he participated in a protest at Shambu border and seeing their activities, the farmer unions had decided to keep them away from our movement,” he said.

    The Samkyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 41 farmer unions that is leading the protest against the three central farm laws, also disassociated itself from those who indulged in violence during the tractor parade, and alleged that some “antisocial elements” infiltrated their otherwise peaceful movement.