While the farmers and police are engaged in a blame-game for the crackdown on protesters in Hisar, the Congress has found yet another opportunity to tear into the ruling BJP-JJP combine, reports RAJESH MOUDGIL
The recent incident of lathi-charge by police on protesters near the newly constructed Covid hospital in Hisar on the occasion of its inauguration by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has revved up the farmers’ stir against the farm laws afresh.
The incident comes after a lull of about three months when there were a series of incidents of protests by farmers at official functions, though the police had then refrained from resorting to lathi-charge resulting in injuries on both sides.
Several people, including 20 police personnel were hurt and at least five police vehicles damaged when the police had resorted to lathi-charge and lob teargas shells on a mob of miscreants which reportedly attacked the police personnel on being stopped from going towards the Covid hospital in Hisar. Several of the protesters were also hurt in the lathi-charge.
The miscreants also reportedly pelted stones at police personnel under the pretext of protest against farm laws, outside Ch Devi Lal Sanjivani Hospital, before the arrival of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar who was scheduled to inaugurate it around the same time.
According to police, as many as 20 cops, including five women police personnel and DSP Abhimanyu Lohan were hurt in the clash. The miscreants also entered the complex of the said hospital where, police said, they even tried to run a tractor over the policemen and some of them sustained injuries. They also damaged five police vehicles on the occasion.
According to police, the miscreants — who were reportedly drunk — again tried to enter the hospital after its inauguration by Khattar, with an aim to carry out unruly activities on a large scale.
Later reacting on the incident and the police action, an official spokesperson, however, regretted the injuries to some women protesters during the police action. He said that cases had been registered against 350 persons under different sections of IPC including for rioting and attempt to murder. The administration, however, agreed to withdraw the cases following farmers protest after nine days of the incident.
Farmers’ fume
The police action has left the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Haryana, fuming with its president Gurnam Singh Chaduni giving a call to block national highways in Haryana in the evening that very day. Chaduni and other leaders, including Rakesh Bains later said the office of Hisar range inspector general of police (IGP) was gheraoed besides holding protests in days to come. “While the farmers’ protests would continue till the farm laws were repelled, the farmers were also anguished as the Haryana police had not withdrawn cases against farmers despites its assurance to do the same for over a week’’, Bains said. The district administration had agreed to withdraw the same after nine days of the incident.
