Tractor rally turns violent, protesters storm Red Fort; 1 dies as tractor turns turtle, many hurt; 86 cops injured; Sanyukt Kisan Morcha blames antisocial elements
The farmers’ tractor march turned violent as protesters broke barricades and violated the agreement on the routes of the rally, creating unprecedented scenes of anarchy in the national Capital as they fought with police, overturned vehicles and delivered a national insult by hoisting a religious flag at Red Fort, a privilege reserved for India’s tricolour.
From Rajpath to Red Fort, the day unfolded in scenes of contrasts. One that Indians have seen for seven decades and the other that seared itself into collective memory with its imagery of protesters demanding a repeal of the three farm laws storming the Mughal era monument, the centrepiece of India’s Independence Day celebrations.
While there were no exact estimates of how many farmers were hurt in clashes, Delhi Police officials said 86 police personnel have been admitted to Delhi’s LNJP Hospital and one of them is critical.
A protester died after his tractor overturned near ITO.
“The farmers began tractor rally before scheduled time, they also resorted to violence and vandalism. We followed all conditions as promised and did our due diligence but the protest led to extensive damage to public property,” Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal said.
After appeals from leaders of farmers’ unions, some of the farmers started returning to the border but others stayed put at.
ITO Chowk became the main flashpoint where several police personnel and protesters sustained injuries. Thousands of protestors, who even started their parade before the allotted time from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders, deviated from the routes assigned to them by the Police.
“The struggle between the police and farmers continued throughout the day until late evening. Most of the incidents were reported from Mukarba Chowk, Gazipur, A-Point ITO, Seemapuri, Nangloi T-Point, Tikri Border and Red Fort. 86 policemen so far have reported injured and several public and private properties have been damaged in this act of vandalism by the rioting mob,” said police in a statement on Tuesday late evening.
Police have registered seven FIRs, three in Dwarka district, three in East district and one in Shahdara district. The Special Cell of Delhi Police will investigate the incident.
Following the clashes, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had agreed with the Delhi Police to hold a peaceful tractor rally on Republic Day said some antisocial elements infiltrated their parade and indulged in violence.
“We dissociate ourselves from all such elements that have violated our discipline. We appeal to everyone to desist from any such acts. We are trying to get a full picture of all the events with regard to the several parades that were planned today and will share a full statement soon,” the SKM statement stated.
The day began after the farmers from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders started their parade two hours before the allotted time, chanting “rang de basanti” and “jai jawan jai kisan” crossing the city on tractors, bikes, horses and even cranes for their proposed parade.
However, soon some groups of farmers deviated from the route, broke barricades and clashed with police. At ITO crossing, the police tried to stop the protestors but they turned violent and damaged police buses with their tractors, prompting the force to use lathicharge and tear gas shells against them.
The protestors rammed their tractors into the buses parked by police and they even chased police personnel with sticks, batons and stones in their hands. Police used teargas shells to disperse the crowd and appealed them to stick to the designated route for the rally and not take law in their hands. The protesters even threatening of the people, rode their tractors into the crowd and police personnel.
After the police pushed the protestors back, some of them moved towards Red Fort, about four kilometres from ITO, on their tractors, on foot and even on horses. In hundreds, the crowd thronged at the monument as some protesting farmers and “Nihangs” (traditional Sikh warriors) were seen entering the Red Fort and hoisting a flag from the staff from which prime minister unfurls the Tricolour on Independence Day.
Police also lathicharged farmers at Chintamani Chowk in Shahdara when they broke barricades and smashed window panes of the cars standing there on road. A group of “Nihangs” (traditional Sikh warriors) clashed with security personnel near Akshardham Temple. While at Nangloi Chowk in west Delhi and at Mukarba Chowk farmers broke cemented barricades and police used tear gas to disperse them.
The Delhi Police appealed to protesting farmers to not take law into their hands and maintain peace as the violence broke out. The police also asked the farmers to head back to their pre-decided routes for the tractor parade.
As the sun set, sporadic incidents of violence continued and restless crowds roamed the streets in many places. Till 7 pm most groups of farmers began the journey to their respective sit-in sites at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders from ITO and Red Fort.
Following the violence, the entry and exit gates of more than 10 metro stations in central and north Delhi were temporarily closed following the trouble. Later Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC also closed entry gates of Uttam Nagar East metro station.
The internet services were also suspended at the protesting sites. On Tuesday evening farmers’ unions called off the Kisan Republic Day Parade with immediate effect and appealed to all participants to immediately return back to their respective protest sites. The SKM announced the movement will continue peacefully and further steps will be discussed and decided soon.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson blamed authorities for the violence and said that police created barriers on their routes and misled the farmers in entering Delhi.
“What has happened at Red Fort is unacceptable. We reject it. We are identifying who these people were, we will send them back. They don’t represent us,” said Tikait.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points, including Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, since November 28, demanding a complete repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.
Wednesday, 27 January 2021 | SHEKHAR SINGH | NEW DELHI
