3 SHOs injured as farm union activists clash with police in Punjab’s Bathinda
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) members attacked police in Mansa when they were prevented from heading to Bathinda’s Lelewala village to forcibly stall the work of laying an underground gas pipeline.
In the third incident of its kind in less than a month, three station house officers (SHOs) of Mansa district police were injured when Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) activists clashed with them early Thursday.
Deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Bathinda range, Harjit Singh said both hands of Bhikhi SHO Gurbir Singh were fractured when the farm union members attacked police in Mansa when they were prevented from heading to Bathinda’s Lelewala village to forcibly stall the work of laying an underground gas pipeline.
Mansa city SHO Daljit Singh and Budhlada SHO Jasbir Singh also sustained injuries before 48 union members were detained.
Besides, several activists were taken into preventive custody, while others managed to head towards Bathinda using rural link roads.
Mansa SSP Bharirath Singh Meena said that Bhikhi SHO inspector Gurbir Singh was knocked down by a vehicle driven by the BKU activists when they were invited for a talk with the authorities. “As he was run over by a speeding car of the union activists, Gurbir suffered serious injuries in his arms. Our teams are working to identify the culprits that attacked the police parties in the district,” the SSP said.
14 police personnel injured in BKU clashes
This is the third such incident in less than a month when BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) leaders have targeted police personnel.
Three personnel were injured when a police team reached Bathinda’s Raike Kalan on November 11 to rescue two food inspectors, including a woman, and a naib tehsildar (revenue official) held hostage by the farmer union. The farmers were pressuring the food inspectors to allow buying paddy while overlooking the high-moisture content.
On November 22, union leaders again clashed with the police near Dunewala village in Bathinda, injuring 11 personnel. The farmers were trying to forcibly take back land acquired for the Jamnagar-Amritsar expressway project when the clash occurred.
BKU activists were demanding higher compensation for the land acquired for the project.
Broke barricades before baton charge
“Several other police personnel also suffered injuries when BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) activists broke police barricades at Bhikhi, Ramdittewala and Behniwala around midnight on Thursday. The defiant activists were proceeding in vehicles when they were stopped around midnight. But they damaged the barricades and the police had to baton charge them to bring the mob under control,” the DIG said.
He said two first information reports (FIRs) were lodged at Bhikhi and Mansa City against the BKU leaders for an alleged attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt to a public servant discharging his duty, rioting besides other charges of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
A bone of contention behind the large mobilisation of the farmer union is the land acquisition project of GSPL India Gasnet Limited, a public sector unit of the Gujarat government, under which natural gas will be supplied from Mehsana (Gujarat) to Jammu and Kashmir. A section of farmers wants higher compensation.
Leaders of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) faction took to social media to claim that vehicles were damaged in police action in Mansa and added they were determined to assemble at Lelewala village in Talwandi Sabo sub division of Bathinda.
Work on last patch in Bathinda pending due to protests
Bathinda deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray said that the gas supply project is of national importance and has been pending in Bathinda since 2019 due to protests by the farmer union.
Compensation was decided and awarded by the company according to rules. The PSU asked dissatisfied farmers to approach arbitrators for their demand of higher compensation but a section of farmers is reluctant, said the DC.
The work by GSPL India Gasnet Limited to lay the 940-km pipeline for supply of natural gas from Mehsana in Gujarat to Bathinda had commenced in 2018 and crossed the 840-km stretch in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana in two years. Parray said that but the work on the last patch in Bathinda has been pending for the last four years.
“Out of the total 22-km stretch in Bathinda, work on 1.2km pipeline is still pending in the district,” said the DC.
“As the project was delayed, GSPL India Gasnet Limited approached the high court and in August, the court had imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Bathinda for failing to stop farmers from obstructing the work on laying the gas pipeline project in the district. On Wednesday, work of laying the pipe was started but it was stopped on the demand of farmers. The administration is ready for talks to resolve the issue as the next hearing is on December 9,” the DC said.
Bathinda SSP Amneet Kondal said that a few union activists detained on Wednesday were freed by the evening. “Police authorities of different districts of Malwa region had also prevented the movement of union members. Adequate arrangements have been made to maintain law and order in the district,” she added.