Farmers affiliated with the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Tuesday laid siege to railway tracks at two places and blocked the national highway in the Majha region to protest against the forced removal and detention of nearly 70 farmers, including leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, from the Ram Tirath road bypass protest site.
The Punjab Police on Tuesday launched a crackdown on the farmers protesting at the Ram Tirath road bypass.
Farmer leader Gurcharan Singh Chabba said the police forcibly detained the protesting farmers and cleared the dharna site.
The police action was carried out around 5 am, two days after the protest began on Sunday.
“Police presence near the protest site had been increasing since late Monday night, signalling a possible crackdown,” said Chabba.
He said the detained farmers, including leaders Jaswinder Singh Longowal, Jobanpreet Singh, and Thakur Dalip Singh, were taken to three police stations—Chheharta, Mattewal and Mehta. Till the filing of this report, the detention continued.
Videos recorded by protesters showed police personnel asking farmers to vacate the road to restore traffic. Pandher reportedly agreed to clear the road but requested an alternative site to continue the protest.
Eyewitnesses reported that police forcibly removed protestors, dragging them into buses and transporting them away.
Following the operation, the road was cleared and traffic movement was restored.
In response to what they termed “repressive and unconstitutional” police action, the farmers laid siege to railway tracks on the Amritsar-Jammu railway line at Jaintipur village and Amritsar-Khemkaran railway line at Gohalwarh village and also blocked the Amritsar-Bathinda national highway near Sarhali Kalan village of Tarn Taran district.
As per the KMSC leaders, demonstrations also spread across the Malwa and Doaba regions, where chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s effigies were burnt. Farmer leaders also announced plans to intensify the agitation.
Addressing the press, farmer leaders Satnam Singh Pannu, Baldev Singh Zira, and Guramanit Singh Mangat said the decision to block transport routes was taken on the spot.
They stated that the protests would continue indefinitely till all detained leaders and workers are released and the farmers’ demands are accepted.
Key demands include a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, farm loan waivers, withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, cancellation of the India–US tax-free trade agreement, repeal of the Seed Amendment Bill, and the withdrawal of the new labour codes.
Leaders also demanded ₹3.77 crore compensation related to the Shambhu–Khanauri protest front, along with compensation for deceased protesters and flood victims.
Late reports indicate that farmers detained at all three police stations have now been shifted to Goindwal jail.
Ugrahan condemns police action
Sangrur:
Ugrahan flayed the police action claiming the leaders were merely exercising their democratic right to protest. The leaders had organised a protest in Amritsar to demand an investigation into equipment and belongings that went missing during the Khanauri border standoff.
He noted that the union’s future course of action would be finalised and announced following a meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, BKU Ekta Azad leaders burnt effigies of the chief minister against the police action.
