Over 160 farmers held in Noida, Naresh Tikait calls panchayat

The police on Tuesday arrested more than 160 protesting farmers, including the president of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad Sukhbir Khalifa, who were holding a sit-in at the 'Dalit Prerna Sthal' here after their march to Delhi on land compensation and other demands was stopped a day earlier.

The protesters had gathered from different parts of Uttar Pradesh on Monday on the call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha and had threatened to resume their march to the national capital if their demands were not met within seven days.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shiv Hari Meena said that they arrested more than 160 protesters at around 1.30 pm under Section 170 (Arrest to prevent commission of cognisable offences) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The provision allows the police to carry out arrests to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence.

Among the arrested were women and several farmer leaders like Khalifa and Pawan Khatana the state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Western Uttar Pradesh), according to the police.

The protesters were taken to the Luksar jail in Noida, officials said. Khalifa said they will continue to fight for their "just demands".

Slamming the arrest of farmers, the Bharatiya Kisan Union led by Naresh Tikait has called a panchayat in Muzaffarnagar.

The farmers had gathered near the Mahamaya flyover and left for Delhi on Monday demanding proper compensation for their land acquired by the government, but were stopped by the police near Dalit Prerna Sthal, after which they sat on dharna there.

Massive traffic snarls had caused inconvenience to commuters crossing the Delhi-Noida border as police had set up multiple layers of barricades and deployed heavy security to stop the march, which coincided with Parliament's Winter Session.