Police, farmers fought pitched battle at Nangloi
NEW DELHI: Nangloi chowk in west Delhi turned into a site of violent clashes between the Delhi police and a group of farmers from Tikri border participating in the tractor parade organised as part of an ongoing agitation against three farm laws passed by the Centre in September 2020.
At around 11.45am, the police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas after a group of protesters broke barricades to move towards Peeragarhi flyover even though that was not part of the route decided between farmers’ groups and the police earlier in the week.
As per the agreement reached on January 24, protestors from Tikri border were required to turn off at Nangloi towards Najafgarh and ride down Baprola village towards the Kundli–manesar–palwal Expressway. However, a section of farmers insisted on riding towards Red Fort.
The agitators tied the barricades to their tractors using ropes and began to move them. Many removed stones set up as blocks with their bare hands to make way for tractors. The protesters vandalised a temporary police post and smashed a police van parked under the flyover.
Several DTC buses that had been set up as barricades were also smashed.
“When farmers protesting at different borders also reached the Red Fort why is the police not allowing us to take out the march towards it?” said Sukhbeer Singh, a protester from Haryana’s Bhiwani , who managed to cross the barricades and reach Madipur Metro station. By 2pm, the entry and exit to all the Metro stations on the Green Line were closed.
Sporadic clashes continued between till late in the evening, even as the vast majority of the protestors continued their parade without incidence, many of them even returning to their camping site at Tikri Kalan. The tear gas shelling continued intermittently for four hours.
“Despite repeated requests, farmers did not listen to the police and vandalised the barricades and public property to move ahead on a route that was against our agreement . The police had to resort to tear gas shelling and lathi charge only after farmers turned violent. They also pelted stones and bricks on police officials,” police official deployed at the site said. A little after 4pm, the police intensified the tear gas shelling.
Protesters in turn alleged that it was the police action that forced them to break the barricades. “The farmers have been sitting at the borders and no one is listening to our demands. Today, when the police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas at them, they turned violent,” said Balbir Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Sangrur district.