Bid to run over SHO as Mansa cops stop farmers at checkpost

Three SHOs and several others were injured as farmers, heading towards Bathinda in 50 vehicles to participate in a protest over poor compensation for land acquisition for a gas pipeline project, clashed with the police at two checkposts in Mansa district in the wee hours today.

The first incident took place around 3 am when nearly 300 farmers owing allegiance to the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) came in 50 tractors from Sangrur and were stopped at a barricade put up at Bhikhi in Mansa.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Bhikhi police station Gurvir Singh tried to convince the farmers to stop, but they broke the barricades, said the police. “The farmers were so aggressive that they tried to run the SHO over and rammed their vehicles into the barricades. As a result, SHO Gurvir Singh suffered fractures in both arms,” said Superintendent of Police (Mansa) Manmohan Singh Aulakh at a press conference in the evening.

Half an hour after the Bhikhi violence, these farmers again clashed with the police at the Ramdittewala Chowk checkpost. “The farmers hit Inspector (Budhlada police station SHO) Jasvir Singh in the head with a stick, while another SHO (Mansa City-2) Daljit Singh suffered a wrist fracture and an injury on his ankle,” said Aulakh.

No arrests have been made so far and an investigation is underway, he said. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) leader Shingara Singh has accused the police of lathicharge and damaging their 15 vehicles. He claimed that more than 12 farmers were injured. The outfit also claimed that 40 farmers had been taken into custody.