As many as 86 Delhi police personnel sustained injuries in the clashes that erupted in various parts of the national capital on Tuesday after hordes of rampaging protesters broke through barriers, pelted stones, fought with the cops, overturned vehicles and damaged property. Delhi Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal confirmed the toll.
Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar told ANI, “Additional DCP (East) Manjeet had a close shave as an attempt was made to mow him down.”
Of the 86, 34 cops were injured in East District alone. The data is still being compiled from all over Delhi and its suburbs.
The police said protesting farmers violated the conditions pre-agreed for their tractor parade and indulge in violence and vandalism, leaving 83 of its personnel injured. In a statement, the police also claimed it did all due diligence in following the conditions for the rally, but the protesters began their march much ahead of the scheduled time and extensive damage to public property was caused during the violence by them.
The police statement came as the national capital witnessed clashes between protesters and police during the tractor parade by farmers to press their demand of repealing the three new agri laws. “The protesters violated conditions fixed for the rally. The farmers began tractor rally before the scheduled time, they also resorted to violence and vandalism,” Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal said.
“We followed all conditions as promised and did our due diligence but the protest led to extensive damage to public property. Many policemen were also injured during the protest,” Singhal said. Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, said legal action will be taken against those who assaulted the police personnel during the farmers’ tractor rally today.
Delhi Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal said the 83 injured included 41 at Red Fort and 34 in East District. A senior police officer said that in the morning at Ghazipur Border, a probationer IPS officer got injured as he along with Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Manjeet tried to stop the farmers from breaking the barricades.
Earlier in the day, farmers atop tractors, on motorcycles and some on horses, broke barricades to enter the city at least two hours before they were supposed to start the tractor march at noon sanctioned by authorities. Steel and concrete barriers were broken and trailer trucks overturned as pitched battles broke out in several parts of the city.
Eclipsing the traditional show of military might at Rajpath, the farmers’ tractor parade that was supposed to be peaceful led to virtual anarchy on the streets and unprecedented scenes the most perhaps being the sight of protesters clambering up the flagpole at the Red Fort, the centrepiece of India’s Independence Day celebrations, to hoist the Nishaan Sahib’, the Sikh religious flag.
Farmer leaders, who have been spearheading the protest at the national capital’s border points to demand a repeal of the farm laws, distanced themselves from the protests that had taken such an unseemly turn and threatened to shift public sympathy from their movement. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 41 farmer unions, alleged that some “antisocial elements” infiltrated their otherwise peaceful movement. The union also condemned and regretted the “undesirable” and “unacceptable” events as the parade turned violent after several groups of farmers deviated from the pre-decided route for the march.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points, including Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, since November 28, demanding a complete repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.
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