Raging Jats force army to retreat in Rohtak

ROHTAK/CHANDIGARH: The army, requisitioned by the BJP government in Haryana following Friday’s arson and violence, could not gain access to Rohtak on Friday night as all roads leading to the district were blocked by Jat protesters.

The troops landed only on Saturday morning when Air Force MI helicopters were pressed into service to drop about 250 troops at Rohtak Police Lines. More reinforcements were air- lifted and sent by the evening. In fact, it had become apparent on Friday night that army columns that moved from Hisar and Jaipur would find it impossible to get access to the troubled Rohtak district. Chief secretary DS Dhesi also spoke to the army authorities about the issue.

However, the problem did not end there. In the absence of vehicles to carry them, the mobility of the troops was severely affected. “The local administration did not have enough vehicles to carry the jawans. This hampered their movement, reducing their effect,” said an official in Chandigarh.

The troops conducted a flag march but were forced to retreat when they were outnumbered by the raging Jat protesters. As soon as the flag march began, thousands of protesters from nearby villages converged at Rohtak city to counter the troops.

The paramilitary reinforcements rushed in by the ministry of home affairs too found themselves stuck as the entry points to Rohtak remained cut off. More than eight companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) that were supposed to reach Rohtak and the surrounding districts found the Tigri border blocked in the wee hours of Saturday and have been stationed there since then.

“It is all uncertain right now. We do not know for how long we will remain here. Everything is shut. Not even tea is available,” said RN Singh, a CRPF inspector.

Residential colonies and urban villages on NH-10 connecting Delhi and Rohtak via Bahadurgarh appeared fortified due to the presence of CRPF jawans. “We have to reach Jhajjar but have been told that protesters have dug up roads with JCB machines,” said Rahul Kumar, a CRPF constable from Jaipur. “The internet does not work here. We have to make phone calls to people outside Haryana to get updates on the reservation issue,” he added.

IN THE ABSENCE OF VEHICLES TO CARRY THEM, THE MOBILITY OF THE TROOPS WAS SEVERELY AFFECTED