Punjab police intensify crackdown on farmers, block protesters from reaching Shambhu police station

BATHINDA: Emboldened by the strict warning by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann against any sort of road or rail blockade apart from plans for protests or strikes causing inconvenience to general public, Punjab Police continued its statewide crackdown against protesting farmers associated with farm forums Sanyukt Kisan Morcha Non-Political and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha even on day two on Tuesday.
The protesters were prevented from reaching Shambhu police station for a day-long sit-in protest by making detentions and house arrests of senior leaders including Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

The farm forums had given call for protest outside police station against the action of the Punjab Police to arrest farmer leaders upon coming out of a meeting with Central and Punjab Ministers on March 19 followed by demolishing of protest sites and thrashing of farmer leader Balwant Singh Behramke on March 20. They were also angry over various belongings of farmers including tractor trailers having gone missing from protest sites.
Irked over the police action of making arrests and putting some under house arrest, Jagjit Singh Dallewal in a video message uploaded on Tuesday morning, while strongly condemning the government’s actions said that the farm forums only wanted to raise voice against police action on March 19-20 but Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann turned the state into a garrison and started crackdown against farmers. Many of the leaders detained on Monday have been sent to jails including our leader Kaka Singh Kotda. Bhagwant Mann should keep it in mind that such state repression may push them towards launching another protest”.
He also said that protests could never be silenced through coercion as more repression face more resistance and rising voices do not tolerate dictatorship. He went on to say that is it not double standards that he or his party leaders are holding protests either in Delhi or in Punjab and despite all this, they will not back down”.
The roads leading to Shambhu were barricaded at various places. At certain places even loaded tippers were put on roads to disrupt the convoys of protesters, if they take any.
Not only in Punjab, but even in Haryana including at Ambala, the protesters mainly from BKU Shaheed Bhagat Singh were not allowed to reach Shambhu. They were stopped at Gurdwara Manji Sahib. “Punjab police reached Gurdwara in plainclothes and studied their movements, said Haryana based farmer leader Tejveer Singh.
Farmers were stopped at Ajitwal town of district Moga, mainly activists of kisan mazdoor sangharsh committee. Some of them were even taken into custody, stated the farm leaders.
The sources said the police got active after a post was made by CM Bhagwant Mann on Monday giving a veiled warning to protesters of any sort, which was vehemently opposed by various farm groups.
Taking the protests ahead, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha angry over acquisition of farmlands for road projects against the wishes of farmers have announced to block rail traffic at Devidaspura near Amritsar on May 7.
We will continue protests and will sit wherever we are stopped and will mobilise people against such highhandedness from the state government lead by a political party which claims to have originated from the protests and struggles, said farm leaders adding that many activists of farm organisation BKU Ekta Azad have been detained at village Mangwal near Sangrur.