Punjab: Tear gas shells fired after farmers’ protest in Bathinda allegedly turns violent

The police in Punjab’s Bathinda on Wednesday lobbed tear gas shells at a group of farmers who allegedly threw stones at police personnel during a protest, PTI reported.

The farmers, who are members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), were seeking the release of two of their jailed senior leaders. They staged the protest in the village of Jeond.

The farmers initially held a sit-in protest on the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway, due to which traffic was disrupted, The Indian Express reported quoting unidentified persons. Ahead of the agitation, there was heavy police deployment in and around Bathinda to prevent protesters from moving towards the Bathinda District Administrative Complex.

The farmers had then shifted the demonstration from the highway to an internal village road in Jeond. However, when they later tried to move towards the city, they were blocked by the police, who fired tear gas shells at them, according to The Indian Express.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Jyoti Yadav Bains alleged that the protesters were throwing stones at the police from rooftops.

“The mob showed aggression, but we contained it,” Bains was quoted as saying by PTI. “The situation is under control.”

A protester, however, claimed that the police lobbed tear gas shells and and threw stones without provocation.

Shingara Singh Mann, the head of the of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan)...

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