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Punjab: Police use mild lathicharge to clear PSPCL HQ of protesting farmers
Arrest farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite fast; work resumes at power corporation office after five days
Five days since farmers laid siege to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) headquarters in Patiala, police on Tuesday resorted to mild lathicharge to evict them from the gates and arrested their leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite fast in support of their demands.
Employees resumed work at the PSPCL office after the team, led by inspector general of police Mukhwinder Singh Chhina and senior superintendent of police Varun Sharma, cleared the protest site around 6am. “The site has been cleared and police have been deployed at all entry and exit gates of PSPCL,” the IG said.
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Earlier, the SSP and the duty magistrate met Dallewal but he refused to lift the dharna. The police action began around 3.30am. SSP Sharma, who spent the night at the protest site, said the farmer leaders were taken to hospital as they were on hunger strike and needed medical attention.
The farmers, who blocked the gates to the PSPCL headquarters on Thursday, were protesting against the delay in providing new tubewell connections and releasing pending ones.
The dharna had disrupted the working of the PSPCL during the crucial paddy-sowing season.
