PHAGWARA: Civil and Police Administration of District Kapurthala and Jalandhar were forced to release dozens of farmers detained by the police in wee hours today due to the visit and election rallies of Prime Minister Narinder Modi at Dina Nagar and Jalandhar.
Several farmers leaders were detained at their respective houses early morning. Farmers who were adamant to go to Jalandhar rally to hold black flag protests in protest against the Anti-Farmers policies of the Government were not allowed to reach uptill the rally venue.
A massive police crackdown was launched against farmers leaders under the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha (non political) since early this morning. Some leaders were detained at homes in wee hours and others taken to police station after raids conducted in Phagwara, Phillaur, Nurmahal, Goraya and Nakodar etc.
While Bhartiya Kisan Union Doaba president Manjit Singh Rai and unions leaders Satnam Singh Sahni(Gen.Sect) and Gurpal Singh Mauli had been arrested this morning, they were let off this afternoon.
Many of the leaders already left homes early morning or last evening and switched off their mobile phones to evade arrests.
President of Mahila Kisan Union Rajwinder Kaur was also put under house arrest today. She along with other members of the Mahila Kisan Union were supposed to go to the prime minister’s rally to hold protest by holding black flags.Later a large gathering of farmers was witnessed at Grain Market Phagwara around 2.30PM who in a cavalcade of vehicles proceeded towards Jalandhar to register their protest, but as per reports the farmers were stopped near Bath Castle far away from the PM's rally point where the farmers leaders hold protest rally with black badges.
The typical situation developed when the irate farmer leader Manjit Singh Rai himself drove a police vehicle parked before the barricades installed near Bath Castle to cross the barricades but the cops of Punjab Police succeeded to stop the bus.Phagwara SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti was seen while pacifying the protesters.
Meanwhile a meeting of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) would be held at Gurdwara Sukhchain Sahib Phagwara on May 28, said BKU Gen.Sect Satnam Singh Sahni to prepare next stretgy of the farmers agitation.