Day after Punjab clash, security enhanced in Chandigarh ahead of farmer protest

The clash was sparked when police tried to stop the cultivators from blocking a highway and a toll plaza over the detention of some farm leaders ahead of a demonstration in Chandigarh. Pritam Singh, a 70-year-old farmer, was killed when a tractor-trolley ran over him during the clash while five policemen were also injured.

Fifty-three farmers have been booked for the attempt to murder over the clash and escalated tensions ahead of the demonstration. Farmers continued protesting near the Longowal police station demanding action against the police for using force in chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district.

Sangrur’s senior police superintendent Surendra Lamba said a few farmer leaders provoked protesters to break barricades before they were broken. “We are yet to lodge an FIR [first information report] over the death. We are waiting for the family of the farmer and will act according to their complaint.”