Police on Friday used tear gas to disperse Haryana farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab's border with the state where farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping since last week after their 'Delhi Chalo' march was halted by security forces.
A few protesters threw stones at police personnel when farmers from Kheri Chopta village were stopped from going to Khanauri. A clash between police personnel and farmers ensued, forcing Haryana security personnel to fire tear gas shells.
Some police personnel and farmers were injured in the clash, officials said, adding some farmers have been detained.
Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) Hisar unit president Golu Data alleged that besides using tear gas, police also resorted to lathi-charge and turned on a water cannon against the farmers. He criticised the state government for the police action.
Farmers are now holding a sit-in to protest against the police action, Data said. A heavy police force has been deployed to maintain law and order in the area.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' march to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops and a farm loan waiver.
Farmer leaders on Wednesday put their march to the national capital on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri and had also said that they would decide their next course of action on Friday evening.
Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu with their tractor-trolleys and trucks agitating for their demands.
Their demands also include implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.
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