Farmers Protest: Haryana Cops Lathi charge Farmers Prompts Blockade

The Haryana Police on Saturday lathi-charged a group of protesting farmers in Karnal. The farmers were marching towards a meeting held by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss a forthcoming municipal election. The brutal action by the police incited the Haryana farmers. They soon blocked multiple roads across the state to protest.

#WATCH | Haryana: Police baton charged farmers who were protesting at Bastara toll plaza area in Karnal pic.twitter.com/NlYiUnDJMr

— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2021

The protests affected traffic on major roads and highways, including the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. The police said Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was imposed in the area. This made the farmers’ gathering “unlawful”. The police soon detained several protesters.

The farmers blocked all highways and link roads in Haryana for many hours after the police action. The blockade was lifted at around 7.30 pm after the police released 11 detained farmers.

The farmers said that the police lathi-charged them without any warning. “Many farmers were injured after police brutally lathi-charged them without any provocation. Some even could be seen with blood all over their clothes,” Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni said.

Farmers have been protesting the three controversial farm laws. Several farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year. They are seeking a repeal of the new farm laws which they feel are not favourable for the farmers. The government is unwilling to scrap the farm laws and has insisted the laws will benefit farmers.

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