Farmer leader Dallewal breaks indefinite fast, accepts water: Punjab govt to SC

New Delhi: Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, accepted water and broke his fast on Friday morning, the Punjab government told the Supreme Court.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was told by advocate general Gurminder Singh for Punjab that they have dispersed the protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders, and opened all blocked roads and highways.

The bench lauded the efforts of Dallewal and said he is a genuine farmer leader without any political agenda.

"We know some people did not want the settlement of the grievances of farmers. We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know everything," the bench said as it asked the Punjab and Haryana government to file a status report about the prevailing situation on the ground.

The top court also asked the high-powered committee headed by a former high court judge to look into the grievances of farmers, and to file a supplementary status report.

It also dropped contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the top court’s order of providing medical aid to Dallewal.

On March 19, several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Dallewal, were allegedly detained in Mohali while returning from a meeting with a central delegation, as Punjab Police evicted farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites, which were blocked for more than a year.

The Punjab police had claimed that the protest sites had been cleared after dismantling temporary structures and stages, and removing trolleys and other vehicles stationed by the farmers.

Farmers, under the banners of SKM and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.