Punjab police raid farmer leaders' residences ahead of March 5 protest
PTC News Desk: As the talks between Punjab government and farmer leaders remain inconclusive, Punjab police on Tuesday carried out raids at residences of several farmer union leaders across the state.
"Massive raids are underway to scuttle our protests, and over a dozen buses are waiting to round me and my supporters up,” said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of BKU Ekta Ugrahan.
“Let the Punjab government do whatever it wants, but I warn them the protest will go ahead despite the police crackdown,” he added.
A senior police official while confirming the development said that the raids are being conducted following the failure of talks between the Punjab government and farmer unions on Monday.
“We have mobilized forces, and efforts are ongoing to arrest farmer leaders,” said the officer.
Farmer union leaders had anticipated such a move from the government ahead of the protests.
“Most of us were not home early in the morning when hundreds of cops arrived to arrest us. While some members were detained, many leaders were not present during the raids,” a union leader stated.
Earlier on Monday, a scuffle broke out between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders and reportedly Chief Minister walked out. The meeting was called upon to convince farmer leaders to cancel their scheduled protest on March 5.
- PTC NEWS
