After around two months of protest by residents of Jahangir village and other union members outside an ethanol factory in the village, police on Wednesday cleared the site amid allegations of lathicharge.
Mediapersons were also stopped from covering the spot during the police action.
Alleging air and water pollution, the residents and union members had been protesting outside Harp Chemicals factory in Jahangir village since August, demanding its complete closure. The Dhuri-Sherpur road also remained blocked for 15 days.
Advocate Amandeep Singh Chahal, who was among the protesters, alleged that the peaceful sit-in was forcibly removed.
“When the police arrived, people were praying and asked to talk after finishing their prayers. But police started hitting the agitators with batons and broke cameras. They also confiscated the phones of anyone trying to record videos. Attempts were made to detain people and those who resisted were beaten,” he alleged.
Sangrur superintendent of police (SSP) Devinder Attri said the protest site was cleared following directions from the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Denying allegations of lathicharge, he said some protesters engaged in pushing and shoving amid the police action and were detained, while the rest left the site.
{{/usCountry}}Denying allegations of lathicharge, he said some protesters engaged in pushing and shoving amid the police action and were detained, while the rest left the site.
{{/usCountry}}Dhuri deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gurpreet Singh said three individuals remained in custody, and further action will be taken after a thorough discussion.
Protesters later staged a demonstration outside the Sadar police station, demanding release of the detained persons.
Earlier this month, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had issued a show-cause notice to the factory over the alleged environmental violations.
According to the notice, the factory was discharging wastewater/leachate outside its premises in the form of wet boiler ash through loaded wet boiler ash tippers in violation of the Water Act, 1974. It also stated that the industry was violating conditions stipulated in its Environmental Clearance granted to it, particularly with regard to the requirement to maintaining zero liquid discharge.