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Punjab government defends farmers’ eviction in high court, cites violence intel
The affidavit filed by Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nanak Singh claimed these steps were not taken only upon receiving adverse inputs about the law and order situation but also taking into account that great hardships are being faced by commuters at both places.
The Punjab government on Monday said that farmers were cleared from the Khanauri and Shambhu borders on March 19 after intelligence inputs of apprehensions of a violent attempt to breach barricading and resuming march to Delhi.
Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nanak Singh, in response to a petition filed seeking the release of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, said, “ …said inputs were confirmed and corroborated by the fact that the meeting of various leaders of protesting organisations, held in Chandigarh on March 19, 2025, with the delegation of Union government ….was touted by the said leaders as failure.” The SSP’s affidavit added that upon receiving these “alarming and critical inputs” the administration took steps to disperse the protesting farmers without any use of “strong force”.
The affidavit further claimed these steps were not taken only upon receiving adverse inputs about the law and order situation but also taking into account that great hardships are being faced by commuters at both places.
The March 19 exercise was undertaken by the government in the spirit of various orders passed by the Supreme Court while hearing petitions on farmers-related issues in which the apex court expected that respondents would take steps to somehow diffuse the on-ground situation which had continuously resulted in the extreme inconvenience of the general public for a prolonged period of more than one year, the affidavit further added.
The affidavit said that Dallewal was not taken back to the protest site as the situation there could have “spiralled into a state of lawlessness”.
Hence, it was decided to escort the farmer leader to an appropriate place where his life and safety could be protected, the affidavit said.
Dallewal, leader of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), was detained along with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher following a meeting with Union ministers in Chandigarh on March 19 afternoon.
Following this, the Punjab Police cleared the year-long blockades on the national highways by farmers at the inter-state borders at Shambhu and Khanauri and normal traffic was restored a day later.
Demanding a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s formula, among other demands, the farmers started marching from various places in Punjab and were stopped at these two places on February 13, last year and since then, they were camping there. Violence broke out on February 21 last year at both the protest sites as farmers unsuccessfully tried to break the barricades and march towards Delhi. Scores of security personnel and protesters had suffered injuries at the Khanauri border. Shubh Karan Singh, a 21-year-old farm protester, died during the protest.
