Manawali (Amritsar), March 29
One farmer was killed and 150 others were injured in police firing, use of teargas shells and lathi-charge during a seven-hour protest dharna by the Kisan Sangharsh Committee and the BKU (Ekta) on the Jalandhar-Amritsar rail track here today. Superintendent of Police (City) P.K. Rai and three Assistant Sub-Inspectors were also hurt in the incident.
According to the Deputy Commissioner, Raminder Singh, at least 70 policemen were also injured in the clash. Twenty four women are also reported to be injured.
The Deputy Commissioner alleged that the farmers, too, had opened fire on the policemen. He said additional force had been requisitioned from six police districts to handle the situation. He said commondo action could not be ruled out in this situation. Many trains had been cancelled with farmers continuing with the dharna, the DC added.
The farmer who died due to bullet injuries was identified as Angrej Singh (22), a resident of the village Basipur, near Tarn
Taran. Hundreds of policemen from Amritsar and Majitha police district were deployed to handle the situation. More police had to be requisitioned to control the situation while the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Raminder Singh, SSPs of Majitha and Amritsar, Mr Kultar Singh and Mr R.P.S. Pawar, respectively, were present at the situation to personally monitor the situation.
Mr Parmjit Singh Gill, DIG (Border range), said the farmers were in a dominating position as they used the stones piled along the rail track. The injured SP and policemen were rushed to local private hospital. However, their condition is stated to be out of danger.
Incidentally Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who was also in the city, described the dharna as ‘highhandedness’ on the part of the farmers as state government could not accept any of their demands due to the implementation of the election code.
Meanwhile, a number of passengers including Sikh
devotees, who had come from farflung areas to take part in the kar sewa in the Golden Temple Complex, were a harassed lot as at least five trains could not move out of the local railway station today.
Super, which departs at 2.55 p.m. Chattisgarh at 4 p.m. Shatabdi at 5.05 p.m. Howrah (Duplicate) at 5.45 p.m. and Howrah Mail at 6.30 p.m. had not moved out of the station till the filing of this report.
The Amritsar-Jalandhar-Ludhiana passenger train and a goods train scheduled to travel to Lahore reached the outskirts of the city at noon but were not allowed to proceed to the station till evening.
The trouble started when the mediations, which continued till 6 p.m. between the agitating farmers and the district administration failed. Mr Kanwaplrit Singh Pannu, Convener, Kisan Sangharash Committee, alleged that the police opened fire without any provocation.
