News Analysis India

Tag: Haryana Police

  • FIR against Haryana farmers over violence during protest against CM Khattar in Hisar

    By PTI
    HISAR (Haryana): The Haryana police have registered a case against 350 unnamed farmers for allegedly attacking government employees and stone pelting during the protest against Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar who had inaugurated a COVID hospital here last week.

    The case has been registered on the complaint of Inspector Virendra Kumar, in-charge of Urban Estate Police Station, police said on Thursday.

    The case has been registered under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 188 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions), 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code, a district police spokesperson said.

    Twenty policemen, including five women officials, were injured in the clash between the farmers and the police on Sunday, officials said.

    The police had lobbed tear gas shells and used force to disperse a group of farmers who tried to march towards the venue where Khattar had gone to inaugurate the COVID hospital on May 16.

    Scores of farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws since last November and opposing public functions of BJP-JJP leaders in the state.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers’ unions spearheading the stir against the farm laws, in a statement had condemned the alleged assault on the protesters.

    The police on Thursday clarified that tear gas was used first and then mild force was applied at the magistrate’s order to protect the hospital from sabotage and to maintain law and order.

    They also maintained that although a meeting was held between the farmer leaders and police after the incident on Sunday evening, the IG Police (Hisar Range) did not give any assurance that no FIR would be registered against the protesters, as was being claimed by some farmer leaders.

    The police said when the protesters had started gathering on Sunday, the district police chief repeatedly informed them that the CM had already left the venue after inaugurating the COVID hospital.

    However, the protesters did not pay heed and carried on with the agitation.

    The police added that though some senior farmer leaders made efforts to stop some of the young protesters who had turned aggressive, they did not listen to the leaders.

    “The agitators indulged in vandalism and blockade near the Jindal bridge and rammed barricades when the DSP and other police force reached the entrance of the newly-constructed Chaudhary Devi Lal Sanjeevani Hospital.

    “They also tried to injure police officers by hitting them with vehicles and tractors several times. Heavy stones were also thrown at the police,” a police spokesperson said.

    Meanwhile, Haryana Congress leader and Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi condemned the registration of case against the farmers and sought a judicial inquiry into the entire incident.

  • Farmers protest against Haryana CM in Hisar, police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators

    By PTI
    HISAR: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated a 500-bed COVID hospital here and said his government is committed to expand the healthcare facilities in the sate amid the raging pandemic.

    Earlier, a group of farmers tried to move towards the venue where Khattar was to inaugurate the hospital but they were dispersed by police by using force and lobbying tear gas shells.

    Khattar said with the inauguration of the Chaudhary Devi Lal Sanjivani COVID hospital, not only the coronavirus patients of Hisar district but the people of nearby districts would be able to get the required treatment at the facility.

    On April 26, Khattar had visited Hisar and identified the campus of Jindal Modern School adjoining Jindal Stainless Limited unit and after completing all the necessary procedures, the hospital was constructed in a record 17 days time, an official statement said.

    “In this difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic, this hospital is certainly a boon for COVID-19 patients as it has adequate availability of beds and oxygen,” it said.

    “The hospital will directly get about eight metric tonnes of oxygen supply from Jindal Stainless Limited, which will be available at 71 liters per minute per bed. It is proposed that no fee would be charged from the patients who will come to get treatment in this hospital,”” the statement said.

    Khattar said the Haryana government is constantly working to provide better healthcare facilities to the people by making necessary arrangements required for the prevention of COVID-19 in the state.

    He said 12,375 beds have been made available in government and private hospitals of the state.

    Now this number has increased to 13,500, he added.

    The chief minister said the COVID-19 pandemic has hit everyone unexpectedly.

    “All the sections of the society have to fight this pandemic by staying united, positive, and cooperating with frontline workers,” he said.

    The chief minister said that the opposition is unnecessarily blaming the government on the COVID-19 issue, which “is certainly not an ethical thing to do in this hour of crisis”.

    “Instead of levelling allegations on the government, the opposition should make the information available to the public about what the government has done,” the statement quoted him as saying.

    Khattar said the opposition should give its suggestions to the government on how to fight the pandemic.

    “This is not the right time to accuse the government.”

    The chief minister also appealed to the agitating farmers to cooperate with the government in its fight against the deadly virus.

    He urged that understanding the need of the hour, the farmers, who are protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws, should immediately call off their stir so as to ensure that the chain of virus spread is broken.

    “This is the biggest crisis of humanity, so we all have to fight together. This pandemic is not limited to any person, a city, or a class. This is the fight of the whole world,” he added.

    Khattar’s appeal came after farmers tried to reach the venue of his event.

    Police said the farmers jumped police barricades and they had to use force and resort to tear gas shelling to disperse them.

    The farmers claimed that a few of them were injured in police action.

    A police spokesman said farmers pelted stones at the force and some personnel were injured and subsequently hospitalised.

    Police said they detained some agitators, included women, as they were marching towards the venue to create obstructions in the chief minister’s event.

    The farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws and they been opposing the public functions of the BJP-JJP leaders in the state over it.

    As farmers started assembling in numbers and marching towards the venue, the chief minister left after he inaugurated the hospital.

    Earlier, a large number of farmers riding on tractors allegedly broke police barricades near Mayyar and Satrod villages on Hisar-Delhi National highway.

    To protest the police action, farmers squatted and blocked some roads in the district.

    Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh said over 150 farmers have been detained and demanded their immediately release.

    Khattar said 1,000 teams have already been deputed to conduct door-to-door COVID-19 testing in villages from May 15.

    He said the rates of private hospitals and ambulances have also been capped by the state government and strict action will be taken against those flouting the rules.

    The Centre has said the new farm laws will benefit farmers by freeing them from the clutches of middlemen and ushering in new technology in the sector.

    However, farmers say these legislations will remove the safety net of the minimum support price (MSP) and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Haryana cops book ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ star Munmun Dutta for using alleged casteist slur in video

    By PTI
    HISAR: The Haryana police has booked actor Munmun Dutta featuring in the TV serial ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ for allegedly using a casteist slur against scheduled caste people in a video.

    Even before the case was registered, the actress had “apologized to every single person” who, she said, has been “unintentionally hurt” by her due tio the wrong usage of the word.

    Dutta had claimed she sued the wrong word “because of her language barrier” and added she was genuinely misinformed about its meaning.

    pic.twitter.com/vxWspMtLzP
    — Munmun Dutta (@moonstar4u) May 10, 2021

    The FIR against Dutta was registered in Haryana’s Hansi town on a complaint by National Alliance for Dalit Human Rights convenor Rajat Kalsan.

    The Hansi police lodged the FIR against Dutta under various provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

    The complainant has alleged that Dutta made derogatory remarks against people belonging to the scheduled caste.

    Police said Kalsan had submitted a written complaint and a CD containing Dutta’s purported video to the Hansi police superintendent on May 11.

    Acting on the complaint, Hansi Superintendent of Police Nikita Gehlot had ordered the registration of an FIR against her.

    A case was subsequently lodged against Dutta in the Hansi city police station in the Hisar district.

    Hansi city police station’s SHO Dalbir Singh said an FIR has been registered against actress Dutta and further investigations were in progress.

    Dutta had taken to Twitter on Monday to put her side of the story.

    “This is in reference to a video that I posted yesterday wherein one word used by me has been misinterpreted. It was never said with the intent of insult, intimidate, humiliate or hurt anyone’s feelings. Because of my language barrier, I was genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word,” she had said in a statement, which she also shared in Hindi.

    “Once I was made aware of its meaning, I immediately took the part down. I have the utmost respect for every single person from every caste, creed or gender and acknowledge their immense contribution to our society or nation,” she wrote.

    “I sincerely would like to apologize to every single person who has been unintentionally hurt by the usage of the word and I sincerely regret the same,” she added.

  • BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, 12 others booked in Haryana

    By IANS
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Police has registered a case against Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait and 12 others for violating prohibitory orders, officials said on Sunday.

    Tikait and other leaders addressed the ‘Mahapanchayat’ in a village near Ambala Cantonment on Saturday.

    The other BJP leaders who have been booked included Ratan Maan Singh, Baldev Singh and Jasmer Saini.

    To contain the pandemic, the district magistrate had imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bars a gathering of four or more persons.

  • Man alleges Haryana police held up his vehicle with two oxygen cylinders for ailing relative

    By PTI
    JIND: A man hailing from Sangrur in Punjab on Tuesday alleged that Haryana police personnel stopped him and held up his vehicle in which he was carrying two oxygen cylinders for his kin, a COVID patient admitted in a hospital in Ghaziabad.

    Rajendra Singh, the affected person, told reporters here that he was headed to Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh from Dhuri village in Punjab’s Sangrur when his car was stopped by the police at a checkpoint in Jind district around 11 pm on Monday.

    “I told them that I have to reach a hospital in Ghaziabad, where my relative was admitted due to COVID-19 and had a requirement for oxygen which I had arranged. The police personnel asked me to show vehicle papers, which I did. I even made a video call to show that the patient was actually admitted and in bad shape,” Singh claimed.

    He, however, said his phone was seized by the police at the checkpost in Gatauli area of Jind district and given back only in the morning while his vehicle was also held up during this period.

    He said that his 60-year-old relative Lalit Mohan, who was admitted in the Ghaziabad hospital, later passed away.

    Singh blamed the Haryana police personnel for his death.

    He also lodged a written complaint in this regard with senior police officials.

    Meanwhile, Jind Deputy Superintendent of Police Pushpa Khatri told reporters on Tuesday that they received a complaint from the Sangrur resident in which it has been alleged that police stopped the private vehicle during checking which was going from Sangrur to Ghaziabad carrying two oxygen cylinders.

    “The complainant has alleged that police held up his vehicle during checking due to which there was alleged delay in supplying oxygen cylinders to the patient leading to his death. In this regard, Jind DIG (O P Narwal) has ordered a probe,” she said.

    “Further investigations are in progress and further action will be taken as per the facts which emerge,” she said.

    Also, Virendra, the in-charge of the police outpost, described the allegations by the Punjab resident as baseless.

    He said, “The car with a Punjab number plate was stopped at night, in which two oxygen cylinders were found.”

    “The driver could not show the required papers on the spot. He was later released at night upon showing the necessary papers,” the policeman said.

    Jind DSP Khatri pointed out that daily night curfew is in place and there are government instructions in place to check if there is any black marketing of oxygen cylinders or hoarding due to which checking of vehicles is routinely done.

  • Haryana Police registers FIR against farmers for raising concrete wall on NH-44, digging borewell 

    By PTI
    SONIPAT: Police have registered two separate cases against farmers for allegedly raising concrete wall structure and digging a borewell on National Highway-44 in Haryana’s Sonipat district, close to the Singhu border protest site.

    “Two separate cases have been registered against those who raised a concrete wall structure and dug a borewell on NH-44,” Station House Officer, Kundli, Inspector Ravi Kumar said over the phone on Sunday.

    The cases have been registered under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the National Highways Act after complaints from the National Highways Authority of India and the local civic authorities, he said.

    He added the structure and the borewell were coming up illegally.

    Kumar said the work on raising permanent structures with bricks and digging of borewell has been stopped after the cases were lodged.

    Some farmers protesting the Centre’s three agriculture laws have started raising concrete structures near the Singhu border protest site.

    Having faced chilly winters and heavy rains earlier, the construction of these concrete structures is among a slew of measures that farmers are taking to prepare themselves for the impending summer.

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — for over three months, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

  • ‘Murder plot’: Man handed over to Haryana police by farmer leaders being quizzed

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A man, who was presented by protesting farmer leaders before reporters at the Singhu border on Friday night as they alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to kill four of them and create disturbance during their proposed tractor parade in Delhi on January 26, is being quizzed by the Haryana police in Sonipat, officials said on Saturday.

    A police official from Sonipat said the man, stated to be around 21 years of age, was being quizzed by the Crime Branch of the state police.

    He said the man was residing in Sonipat and had no previous criminal record.

    “He was not carrying any arms or ammunition. We are questioning him, but nothing has so far been found that points to any kind of conspiracy, as is being alleged,” the official said, adding that further investigations are underway.

    READ HERE | Protesting farmer leaders allege conspiracy hatched to kill four of them during tractor rally

    At the Singhu border press conference late on Friday night, the farmer leaders presented the man who claimed that his accomplices were asked to pose as policemen and baton-charge the crowd during the proposed tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day.

    The farmer leaders claimed that they caught the man from the protest site at the Singhu border.

    He was subsequently handed over to the Haryana police.

    Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu alleged that attempts are being made to disrupt the ongoing agitation against three farm laws.

    The man, who had his face covered with a scarf, claimed at the press conference that a plan was hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are known faces in the media, at the stage on Saturday.

    “On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor parade by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Farmer union leaders claim getting threats over phone, social media

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several border points of Delhi since November 28 last year, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

    Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Two lawyers among three held in land fraud case in Haryana

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Police has arrested three persons, including two advocates, on charges of selling two acres of land ‘acquired’ through fraudulent means in Gurugram district to a private company.

    The land in Islampur village, acquired by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in 1993, was sold for Rs 2 crore using forged documents and fake witnesses, informed DGP Manoj Yadava.

    Accused Rohit Thakaran of Jharsa village and Ajay Chaudhary of Islampur village hatched a plan and got the land transferred in the name of Chaudhary by producing fake witnesses, who impersonated Murti Devi, Lakshmi Devi and Bala Devi, the original owners of two acres of the ancestral property. Lawyers Chaman Lal Arora and Subhash Chand Arora acted as witnesses and ‘identified the owners’. 

    “The fraud came to light when one of the victims, Murti Devi filed a complaint in this regard. The State Crime Branch (Gurugram unit) arrested Thakran on January 18 and both advocates Chaman Lal Arora and Subhash Chand Arora on January 20,” said Yadava.

    The probe also revealeds that mastermind Rohit Thakaran had learnt privately the work of ‘Patwari’ and was fully aware of the acquired land. Ajay Chaudhary has been found to have transferred Rs 29 lakh out of Rs 2 crores to the account of Thakaran. 

  • Farmers’ agitation: Haryana Police cancels leave of its personnel till further orders

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: In the wake of the farmers’ ongoing agitation and their plan to hold a tractor rally on Republic Day, the Haryana Police on Thursday decided to cancel leave of its personnel till further orders.

    The farmers protesting against the new farm laws have stuck to their demand to take out a tractor rally on Delhi’s busy Outer Ring Road on January 26, which is celebrated as Republic Day in India.

    According to a Haryana Police order, “In view of the ongoing farmers’ agitation in the state, it is directed that leave of all kinds, except in emergent circumstances with the prior approval of competent authority, are stopped forthwith till further orders.”

    Farmer unions have been holding tractor rallies at many places in Punjab and Haryana to mobilise people for their planned tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.

    The unions had announced that they would hold the parade on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road as part of the protest against the new agri-marketing laws enacted by the Centre.

    Haryana Police sources said the decision to cancel leave of policemen was also taken in the wake of a large number of farmers from Punjab and Haryana planning to move to Delhi for the tractor rally.

    The sources said that senior Haryana Police officers are keeping a close eye on the developments related to the farmers’ stir.

    A large number of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting near Delhi’s borders for the past two months demanding the repeal of the new farm laws.

    The protesting farmer unions on Thursday rejected the government’s proposal to suspend the three laws for 18 months, and said they want nothing but a complete repeal of all these contentious legislations.

    The three laws have already been stayed by the Supreme Court on January 11 till further orders, and the apex court also formed a committee of experts to resolve the deadlock.

    The panel has been asked by the court to submit its report within two months after consulting all stakeholders.

    Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP (minimum support price) and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

  • Akali Dal terms use of force by Haryana government against farmers ‘arrogant, power-drunken’

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday condemned the use of force against farmers in Haryana, terming it “arrogant and power-drunken” response by the BJP government.

    The Haryana Police used water cannons and lobbed teargas shells to prevent protesting farmers from marching towards Kaimla village in Karnal district where Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to address people to highlight the “benefits” of the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

    The farmers, however, reached the village and vandalised the venue of the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme besides damaging the makeshift helipad where Khattar’s copter was to land. The CM did not attend the event.

    Badal said the “wanton and brutal repression” by the Manohar Lal Khattar dispensation against “peacefully and democratically” protesting farmers clearly showed the BJP governments at the Centre and states were “full of hatred for the farmers”.

    They have “no intention” of resolving the crisis created by the passage of three Acts on marketing of farmers’ produce, the SAD president said in a statement. “It is shocking that no effort was made at all by those in power in Haryana to talk to the farmers who were protesting peacefully. Instead, they abused the might of the state to provoke and suppress democratic protests,” said Badal, whose party has broken ties with the NDA after the promulgation of the three Acts.

    The police “repression”, including use of water cannons, showed how “insensitive” the BJP has become to the plight of the farmers, the SAD president said and lauded the farmers’ organisations for leading an “exemplary peaceful, disciplined and democratic movement”.

    ALSO READ| 40-year-old Punjab farmer ends life at Singhu border: Haryana Police

    For over a month several farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are camping at the borders of Delhi to protest the three farms laws, which the NDA claims will reform the agri sector.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    “The world has not seen a movement like this by beleaguered peasantry for a long time now. I am running out of words to express my admiration for the farmers and the farmers organisations for this unprecedented movement. The SAD stands fully with our brave but beleaguered brethren, the farmers,” Badal said.

    The Akali leader also came down heavily on the Punjab BJP leaders for their “highly provocative statements and acts” against the agitating farmers. He asked the BJP leaders to refrain from disturbing the hard-earned atmosphere of peace in Punjab.

    “The Punjab unit of the BJP is rubbing salt in farmers’ wounds. I fail to understand this party’s overall mindset against the farmers. On one hand they are inviting farmers for talks while on the other they are provoking them through protests and provocative acts against them,” Badal said.

    He asked the BJP to understand that “the whole of Punjab stands solidly behind farmers. People will never forgive those who don’t stand solidly by the country’s annadata (food providers). The BJP is totally isolated”.