As many as 83 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 83, 34 cops were injured in East District alone. The data is still being compiled from all over Delhi and its suburbs.
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.
Source: News18