Farmers, police prepare for Monday meet

Around 1,000 villagers hold a condolence meeting at Sakipur village where they decide to take the farmers' agitation to its “conclusive end”, reports Kapil Datta.

Around 1,000 villagers on Sunday held a condolence meeting at Sakipur village where they decided to take the farmers' agitation to its “conclusive end”.

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Kisan leader Bihari Singh, condemning the killing of farmers from Ghodi Bachheda in police firing, said, “The issue is no longer of Ghodi Bachheda alone but of the entire farmer community. If the agitation is suppressed now, then farmers will not be able to raise their heads at all. It is do-and-die battle for farmers now.”

He said the agitation should not be stopped till it reaches a conclusive stage and farmers get their due compensation.

Davender Khatana, another kisan leader, said, “The panchayat has demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the 5 victims’ families. The other demand is registration of a murder case against the guilty officers.”

Meanwhile, villagers from Noida, Greater Noida, Bulandshahr and Aligarh have also expressed support and have decided to attend the condolence meeting on Monday.

The administration has, however, made security arrangements to restrict movement of outside visitors.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) RK Chaturvedi, said, “The administration is not against holding of condolence meetings. But entry of outsiders has been restricted. No political leader from outside would be allowed to go to Ghodi Bachheda.”

On Sunday around 22 BJP leaders, including Dr Mahesh Sharma, Rakam Singh, Nawab Singh Nagar and others, and Jan Morcha leader Raj Babbar were arrested as they were going to the village.