Several farmers agitating against the farm laws suffered head injuries in a lathi-charge ordered by the Haryana administration in Karnal on Saturday to break their protest against a visit by chief minister and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar to his constituency.

A video captured a person resembling the Karnal City sub-divisional magistrate, Ayush Sinha, purportedly giving instructions to police that no one should be allowed to breach the barricades and they can “break heads” if needed.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted this photograph on Saturday with this post in Hindi: “Once again the farmer’s blood has been spilled, and Hindustan’s head is bowed in shame.” The tweet had the hashtags: FarmersProtest and Anti-Farmer-BJP. The Telegraph

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi was dedicating to the nation the renovated memorial to the Jallianwala massacre of 1919 on Saturday evening, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) was quick to draw a parallel.

The Congress described the BJP-JJP government in Haryana as “General Dyer government”. Reginald Dyer was the army officer who ordered the shooting of peaceful protesters in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, in 1919.

The video clip, tweeted by many including BJP parliamentarian Varun Gandhi, showed a man in a white shirt purportedly instructing the police to beat up the farmers, and the cops chorusing “Yes, Sir”.

Excerpts from the video:

Man in white shirt: It’s simple. No matter what, no one should pass from here – I’m making it clear. Break his head. (People) will not pass. I’m the duty magistrate. I’m giving it in writing. Hit with the lathi straightaway. Any doubts? Will you hit?

Chorus: Yes, Sir.

Man: Will anyone breach this (barricade)?

Chorus: No, Sir.

Man: Raise your lathis and hit straightaway. There’s no room for doubt, no need for a direction. Under no circumstances should this barricade be breached. We have adequate forces... there’s no issue. Will you hit them with your lathis?

Chorus: Yes, Sir.

Man: Wear helmets. Not one person should pass from here. If they do, their head should be broken.

Asked by reporters about the video that has gone viral, SDM Sinha said: “I have not seen the video.”

Referring to the police action near the toll plaza, he said: “They had begun throwing stones, and the CrPC provides for the use of proportionate force.”

Asked about the nature of the directives attributed to him, the SDM said he would check the video and respond. The Telegraph tried contacting him and sent him a message but there was no response.

The briefing recorded on the video appeared to have taken place near Gurdwara Dera Kar Sewa in Karnal where the farmers had decided to converge before leaving for the protest against the arrival of legislators to attend the meeting called by Khattar.

RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary tweeted this picture on Saturday with the post: “Such scenes make your blood boil! If any children of farmers are in the BJP, today is the day to kick the party and come out.” The Telegraph

In order to prevent this gathering, the district administration had barricaded all the roads leading to the gurdwara. The lathi-charge took place near the Bastara toll plaza.

The police said only mild force was used but pictures on social media showed people in blood-soaked clothes.

The police action saw the Samyukta Kisan Morcha – spearheading the agitation – call for an impromptu blockade of all the highways in Haryana till evening to press for the release of the farmers who had been rounded up. By evening, 15 detained farmers had been let off.

According to the SKM, the farmers were protesting against the visit by Khattar and other BJP leaders to Karnal as has been the practice since the protests began. In both Haryana and Punjab, the protesting farmers have been organising protests against the BJP and its allies, making it difficult for the ruling party legislators and workers to visit their areas for political work.

Footage tweeted by Modi shows him dedicating the renovated complex of the Jallianwala Bagh memorial to the nation on Saturday. The Telegraph

In a statement later in the evening, the SKM said: “The government’s brutal action, and the completely illegal and atrocious orders of the SDM to the police force deployed in Karnal today to ‘break the heads’ of the protesters are condemnable and bring disgrace and shame to our democracy. While PM Modi was doing a Jallianwala Bagh virtual rally, the Jallianwala Bagh unleashed in Karnal is doubly shameful.”

The SKM demanded the immediate dismissal of Sinha.

Khattar sought to justify the police action, saying that if people blocked roads, the police would act. “They are free to raise their issues in a democratic and peaceful manner. If they block highways and throw stones at the police, the police will also take steps to maintain law and order. We will look into it and take necessary action,” Khattar told reporters after the lathi-charge.

Haryana’s additional DGP (law and order), Navdeep S. Virk, said some protesting farmers present at the Bastara toll plaza had blocked the Karnal highway and tried to head to the city.

“When the officials present told them they could not proceed further, they got aggressive and some of them threw stones at the police. After that, as per provisions of the law, the police used light force and removed them from there. Four farmers and 10 police personnel sustained injuries,” Virk said.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “Phir khoon bahaya hai kisan ka, sharm se sar jhukaya hai Hindustan ka (Again they have shed farmers’ blood and forced India to hang her head in shame).”

Tweeting in Hindi, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: “This is the dictatorship of the BJP government. We condemn it. Such a brutal attack on the farmers is a reflection of the government’s failures. There is still time, Modi government, agree to the farmers’ demands and repeal the three farm laws and enact a law guaranteeing an MSP. The government should apologise to the farmers and provide them free treatment.”

The BJP’s Varun Gandhi posted the video and tweeted: “I hope this video is edited and the DM did not say this…. Otherwise, this is unacceptable in democratic India to do to our own citizens.”

Additional reporting by PTI