19 held, 200 detained, SIT formed; top cop says 37 leaders instigated violence

A day after the national capital saw unprecedented violence during the farmers’ Republic Day tractor rally, Delhi police commissioner S.N. Shrivastava said on Wednesday some farmers’ leaders were also involved in the violence and that all those involved will not be spared. A Special Investigation Team, including officials from Special Cell, Crime Branch and the district police, has been constituted to investigate the incident.

The police has registered 25 First Information Reports (FIRs) for rioting, robbing, attempt to murder and other criminal offences across against several people, including some farmers’ leaders, and 19 people have been arrested while around 200 other were detained and 50 were questioned.

The Delhi police has named 37 farmers’ leaders, including Medha Patekar and Yogendra Yadav, in an FIR registered at the Samaypur Badli police station in connection with the violence. According to the FIR, the protesters also robbed an official pistol with 10 rounds of ammunition along with two gas guns.

The farmers’ leaders named in FIR include Rakesh Tikait, Medha Patekar, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Satnam Singh Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha, Surjeet Singh Phool, Jagjeet Singh Dalewal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Harinder Singh Lakhoval, Gurnam Singh Chanduni.

The police chief also said by January 25 evening, it became clear that the farmers’ unions were not keeping their word as they brought forward the aggressive and militant elements who occupied the stage at protest sites and delivered provocative speeches.

He said that after five rounds of talks with the farmers’ union regarding the tractor parade on Republic Day, there was mutual agreement on the parade routes from the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders.

“The police laid down the conditions, which were agreed by the farmers and the first was a time that Turn to Page 4