Haryana and Punjab border remains battleground; farmers, police clash
The Punjab-Haryana border remained a battleground on Wednesday as a fresh standoff began between farmers and Haryana Police.
The Punjab-Haryana border remained a battleground on Wednesday as a fresh standoff began between farmers and Haryana Police, when thousands of protesters tried to breach multiple layers of barricades to march towards the national capital and security forces fired tear gas shells, including through drones, to contain the crowd.
Several farmers from Punjab were injured in the face-off with Haryana Police stationed at Shambhu border near Ambala and Khanauri border in Jind – two points that saw similar scenes a day earlier. While the protesters claimed that at least 65 of them sustained injuries, there was no immediate confirmation from the police on the same.
Besides tear gas shells, the protesters faced water cannons, rubber bullets and lathicharge when they attempted to break the barricades, as Haryana Police and the Rapid Action Force deployed at the two junctions resorted to force to halt long caravans of tractors, SUVs and trucks and prevent them from proceeding.
Haryana home minister Anil Vij reiterated his government’s efforts to ensure peace in the state and slammed the Punjab government for not acting against the protesting farmers.
“If someone attacks our police, why can’t we go after them and catch them?” he told reporters in Ambala.
“When these groups (farmers) marched from Amritsar, the Punjab government did not make any effort to stop them anywhere on the way. This means they want to create chaos in Delhi. Do they want to go to Delhi and dance again at the Red Fort?” he said, referring to the farmers’ bid to hold similar protests at the Red Fort in 2021.
“It appears their objective is something else,” he said.
The Punjab government hit back, saying its Haryana counterpart has no right to stop the farmers from holding “peaceful protests”. “The national highway is property of the nation, and farmers were trying to pass through Haryana’s jurisdiction to reach Delhi,” he said, adding that the Haryana government’s action against the protesters were “unconstitutional and illegal”.
Sixty-four companies of paramilitary personnel and 50 from the state police have been deployed across 16 Haryana districts. The state government has imposed restrictions on the assembly of people under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in these districts and extended mobile internet shutdowns in seven of them.
According to Haryana deputy general of police Shatrujeet Kapur, at least 26 police personnel were injured during the standoff at the two junctions. On Tuesday, 110 farmers and 25 police personnel were injured in both places.
Officials said the police at Shambhu border resorted to force as the protesters, who continued their agitation for a second day, tried to remove the barricades and also pelted security personnel who were positioned close to them.
In a statement, Ambala DC Shaleen said tear gas shells and rubber bullets were used to contain the protests.
Farmers said at least 25 protesters were injured in the police action in the area and are undergoing treatment. Farmers said their vehicles were also damaged by the police. One of the protesters was seen wearing protective gear along with safety goggles at Shambhu border to protect himself from the tear gas shells and rubber bullets.
A similar face-off was reported in Jind where farmers faced tear gas shells and lathicharge by the police personnel. The protesters claimed 40 people sustained injuries in the police action.
Jind superintendent of police (SP) Sumit Kumar visited the civil hospital and met both the injured police personnel and farmers.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) leader Kaka Singh Kotda also hit out at Haryana Police for firing tear gas shells on the protesters. “Even the Punjab government has objected to the use of drones. The Haryana Police is firing rubber bullets from drones. The Haryana Police and Rapid Action Force have been doing inhuman work by firing rubber bullets on even elderly people,” he said.
Senior Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Azad Palwa, from Jind, said the protesters were sitting near Khanauri border when police resorted to lathicharge to disperse them.
“Our vehicles were damaged by the police. The Haryana Police is behaving like terrorists with Haryana and Punjab farmers. Nearly 15 farmers from Jind were detained by the police,” he said.
Meanwhile, farmers, at both the sites, used tennis balls, kites, wet jute sacks, safety goggles and sports gloves as defensive weapons to bring down drones used by police to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.