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200 detained as farmers scuffle with cops near Preneet’s residence
Farmers demand arrest of BJP leader for protester's death during Preneet protest. Officials promise action and compensation. Highway blocked, protest called off.
Box:
Angered over protester’s death
- During a protest against Preneet recently, a farmer died allegedly after being pushed by BJP leader Harvinder Singh Harpalpur.
- The protesters have demanded his arrest. Officials have reportedly assured farmers of action and also compensation to the deceased’s kin.
Demanding arrest of local BJP leader Harvinder Singh Harpalpur, hundreds of farmers staged a protest near the residence of Patiala BJP candidate Preneet Kaur on Wednesday.
Harpalpur was on Sunday booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after a farmer, allegedly pushed by Harpalpur, died during a protest against Preneet Kaur in Rajpura.
The Patiala police had turned Preneet’s residence into a fortress since morning to prevent farmers from reaching there.
Around 12 checkpoints were laid and around 200 farmers were detained. They were released later. Though farmers and cops scuffled at some points, no one was injured. Failing to reach Preneet’s residence, they staged a sit-in a few hundred meters away from the house.
After the scuffle, farmers blocked the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway near Dhareri Jattan toll plaza in Patiala for hours. Later, senior police and administration officials held a meeting with farmer leaders. After hours of parleys, the farmers decided to call off the protest.
According to information, the government has assured action in four weeks, including compensation to the deceased’s kin as per the Punjab government policy; and a look-out circular against Harvinder Singh Harpalpur to ensure he doesn’t flee the country. It was confirmed by farmer leader Surjit Singh Phul who was present in the meeting.
Following the assurance, the protesters have decided to allow the postmortem examination of the deceased farmer, Surinderpal, on Thursday.
