New Delhi: The Delhi Police said Tuesday that protesting farmers violated the conditions pre-agreed for their tractor parade. Delhi Police said the farmers resorted to violence and vandalism, leaving many of their personnel injured.
In a statement, the police also claimed the force did all due diligence in following the conditions for the rally. However, the protesters began their march much ahead of the scheduled time. They said that the farmers caused extensive damage to public property.
The police statement came as the national capital witnessed violent scenes during a tractor parade by farmers. They entered the city in their tractors from different points to press for their demand of repealing the three new agri laws.
“The protesters violated conditions fixed for the rally. The farmers began tractor rally before scheduled time, they also resorted to violence and vandalism,” Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal said.
“We followed all conditions as promised and did our due diligence. However, the protest led to extensive damage to public property. Many policemen were also injured during the protest,” Singhal stated, without mentioning the exact number of personnel injured.
Wielding sticks and clubs and holding the Tricolour and union flags, tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors broke barriers. They clashed with police and entered the city from various points to lay siege to the Red Fort.
If police used teargas shells to disperse the restive crowds in some places, hundreds of farmers in ITO were seen chasing them with sticks and ramming their tractors into parked buses. A protester died after his tractor overturned.
ITO resembled a war zone with a car being vandalised by angry protesters and shells, bricks and stones littering the wide streets.