10 farmers booked for blocking highway

JALANDHAR: A day after the sugarcane farmers lifted their protest after nearly 30 hours, police on Thursday booked 10 persons, including Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai, for blocking the JalandharDelhi highway in Phagwara.

Thousands of farmers, led by Rai, on Tuesday had laid siege to the national highway causing inconvenience to commuters.

While nine of them were booked by name, the first information report (FIR) also includes an unidentified person.

The stalemate between the farmers and private sugar mill owners ended on Wednesday, after the Punjab government agreed to ensure payment of ₹310 per quintal state advised price (SAP) for their produce and ordered the miller to start crushing operations immediately. The government has decided to pay ₹25 per quintal directly to the sugarcane farmers while the remaining amount of SAP (₹285 per quintal) will be paid by the private sugar mills.

Manjit Rai said, “This is sad that the authorities have registered a case against the farmers for demanding their own money and not the millers who are the real culprits. We are not scared of the FIR. We will fight it.”

The case was registered under Sections 188, 283, 109 , 149 and 120-B of IPC and Section 8-B of the National Highway Act. The FIR says the farmers delivered provocative speeches and blocked the national highway despite requests by police.