Ahead of Tuesday's protest call, a midnight crackdown on Punjab farmers' leaders; Jagjit Singh Dallewal under house arrest
The Punjab Police launched coordinated action against several farmer leaders in the early hours of Monday ahead of Tuesday's protest call given by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) outside the Shambhu police station.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a key face of the ongoing farmers' agitation, was among the prominent leaders placed under house arrest at around 4 am at his house in the Dallewal village in the Faridkot district.
'This is a midnight assault on democracy. Even now, I can barely walk, and yet they have confined me to my home. All we had announced was a one-day peaceful protest outside the Shambhu police station. People must now rise and speak out, or they will silence all our voices,' said Dallewal, visibly weak after a recent prolonged hunger strike.
The police action was not limited to Dallewal. Multiple leaders across Punjab were either detained or placed under house arrest in a sweeping move that has drawn sharp criticism from various farmer organisations.
While leaders like Baldev Singh Sirsa were also confined to their homes, others like Sukhjeet Singh Hardo Jhande, Kulwinder Singh Panjola, Hardev Singh Chitti, Gurpreet Singh Cheena, Shera Athwal, and Harvinder Singh Masaania were taken into custody and lodged at different police stations, including Batala, Ropar, Dorangla, and Sekhwan, said KMM leader Sukhdev Singh Bhojraj.
The arrests are being seen as a pre-emptive measure by the authorities fearing a large-scale gathering at Shambhu, where KMM and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) staged a 36-day dharna from February 13, 2024, to March 19, 2025, demanding, a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) among other things. That protest was forcibly cleared on March 19 when several top leaders were returning from talks with the Centre and the Punjab Government, and were arrested en route from Mohali.
Dallewal alleged, 'During the March 19 crackdown at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, the police misbehaved with farmer leaders and displaced tractors, trolleys, and personal belongings. Some items were later recovered from the houses of influential people connected to the ruling government, including a police employee. We demanded action, but nothing was done. Instead, they're now arresting us for demanding justice.'
In a fresh escalation, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) Sunday night gave a call for a rail roko protest at the Devidaspura Railway Station on the main Amritsar- Delhi line beginning May 7.
The protest is against alleged forced land acquisition for the Bharatmala highway project in Amritsar without adequate compensation. KMSC coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher warned that the protest may spread to more stations from May 8 onwards, including Basti Tenkan Wali at Ferozepur, if the issue remains unresolved.
Farmer leaders have urged all like-minded organisations and the public to unite against what they termed the Punjab Government's 'diktat to silence dissent.'
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