86 personnel injured, 7 FIRs over farmers’ tractor rally

Team Udayavani, Jan 27, 2021, 9:27 AM IST

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday registered seven FIRs in connection with the protesting farmers’ tractor parade in the national capital, officials said here.

“Three FIRs were registered in east district, three in Dwarka and one in Shahdara district,” a police official said.

More FIRs are expected to be registered, the police said.

Earlier in the day, the tractor parade meant to highlight the demands of the farmer unions dissolved into anarchy on the streets of the city as tens of thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.

According to a statement by police, 86 personnel have reported injuries in the violence.

A protester died after his tractor overturned near ITO, one of the major flashpoints of trouble.

The Sayunkt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which comprises various farmer organisations, had proposed a “Kisan Tractor Rally” on Republic Day. The SKM had held several rounds of meetings with the Delhi Police in connection with their proposed tractor parade, the statement said.

They had given an undertaking to the police to take out a peaceful rally as per the proposed plans on four agreed upon routes, it added.

However, on Tuesday around 8.30 am, 6,000 to 7,000 tractors assembled at the Singhu border, it said.

Instead of going on the pre-decided route, they insisted upon going towards central Delhi and despite repeated requests, the farmers, led by Nihangs on their horses and equipped with swords, kirpans and fursas, charged at the police and broke through several layers of barricades, which were erected between Mukarba Chowk and Transport Nagar, the statement said.

Similar incidents were reported from Gazipur and Tikri borders.

The farmers at the Gazipur border broke through the barricades at several points and headed for ITO, where they were joined by the farmers who had come from the Singhu border, it said.

At the Tikri border also, the farmers did not agree to the pre-decided plan and fought with police. They not only broke barricades, but also attacked police vehicles and personnel with deadly weapons. Instead of turning towards Najafgarh, they headed towards Peeragarhi and further towards the central part of the national capital, the statement further said.

At ITO, a large group of farmers, who had come from Gazipur and Singhu borders, attempted to move towards Luytens’ Delhi. When they were stopped by policemen, a group of these farmers became violent and broke the barricades, damaged iron grills and dividers and even tried to run over the policemen deployed at these barricades, the police said in the statement.

However, police personnel succeeded in stopping them from entering Lutyens’ Delhi. Meanwhile, some farmers also indulged in vandalism and attacked policemen. Later, they changed their plans and moved towards Red Fort, it said.

At Red Fort, they broke the gates and entered its wells. A section of the crowd also managed to climb atop the rampart of the Red Fort where they hoisted their organisation’s flag, the statement said.

Police managed to remove the crowd from the rampart. The struggle between the police and the farmers continued throughout the day until late evening, the statement said, adding that most of the incidents were reported from Mukarba Chowk, Ghazipur, A-Point ITO, Seemapuri, Nangloi T-Point, Tikri Border and Red Fort.