Chandigarh: Several farmer leaders in Haryana were detained when they tried to proceed towards Delhi with a large number of supporters for the ‘Mahila Maha Panchayat’ called in support of the wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) claimed Sunday.
Security was heightened at Haryana’s borders with Punjab and Delhi and barricades put up at many places along with heavy deployment of police personnel as farmers, mostly women, tried to move in groups towards the national capital. Several farmers from Punjab also tried to join their Haryana counterparts in moving towards Delhi.
In Haryana, many farmer leaders were detained inside their homes early Sunday.
The police stopped hundreds of farmers at the Haryana-Punjab border near Ambala city in the morning. In Kurukshetra, BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni was detained under relevant provisions of the law, a police official said.
The outfit claimed that some other farmer leaders were detained in different parts of Haryana to prevent them from reaching Delhi.
At the time he was being detained by the police, Charuni, in a video message, appealed to the farmers to maintain peace and not to block the roads.
Referring to the detentions, Charuni said, “The arrests are being made to fail today’s ‘maha panchayat’ scheduled in Delhi.”
“There is no need to block the roads but if the farmer leaders are not released by Sunday evening, then you may take the next call,” he told supporters.
The wrestlers, who have been sitting in protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, are demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh who, they alleged, sexually harassed several women grapplers.
Several Opposition parties, including the Congress, have extended their support to the protesting wrestlers.
A large number of police personnel were deployed in Sonipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Sirsa and Gurugram districts and all vehicles entering Haryana thoroughly checked, officials said.
The police rounded up some farmers on GT Road near Gurudwara Manji Sahib in Ambala on Sunday when they insisted on marching towards Delhi. Sukhwinder Singh, a spokesperson for BKU (Charuni), alleged that the police detained some farmers late Saturday night.
Around 200 farmers, including women, were camping at Gurudwara Manji Sahib in Ambala since Saturday night, leading to heavy deployment of police outside the gurudwara road.
Superintendent of Police (Ambala) Jashandeep Singh said no permission was given to hold the ‘Mahila Maha Panchayat’ in Delhi. The officer reached the gurudwara and asked the farmers not to take the law in their hands while urging them to disperse.
Thousands of police personnel were deployed and multiple layers of barricades put in place in the Lutyens’ Delhi area on Sunday as part of the security arrangement for the inauguration of the new Parliament building and the ‘Mahila Maha Panchayat’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday morning.
Police personnel put up barricades at border points and were checking vehicles entering the national capital.
In Hisar, the police detained some farmers at the Badopatti toll plaza when they were trying to move towards Delhi.
The police detained farmer leaders, including Sadanand Rajli, Bhayan Khap leader Hoshiar Singh Panghal and another khap leader Naresh Bhayan. BKU (Charuni)’s Hisar district chief Dhola Jawera and farmer leader Balwan Beniwal were also detained.
The Delhi Police Sunday detained Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia for violation of law and order after they breached the security cordon while trying to move towards the new Parliament building for the planned ‘Maha Panchayat’.
Immediately after the wrestlers were pushed into buses and taken away, the police began clearing the protest site by removing the cots, mattresses, coolers, fans and the tarpaulin covers along with other belongings of the wrestlers.
The protesting wrestlers and their supporters have been taken to different locations in the national capital. While Bajrang Punia has been detained at a police station near Mayur Vihar, Sakshi Malik is in Burari. Vinesh Phogat and her cousin Sangeeta Phogat were taken to Kalkaji.
PTI