Punjab: Tear gas used on farmers seeking jailed union leaders' release in Bathinda

Bathinda, Feb 6 (PTI) Chaotic scenes unfolded in Bathinda on Friday as farmer leaders claimed that police used tear gas shells to disperse protesters who were heading to a demonstration to seek the release of two jailed BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) members.

The commotion led to a traffic jam on the Bathinda-Chandigarh Highway here that lasted for hours.

According to police, a large number of personnel were deployed to maintain law and order. The farmers tried to cross the barricades who were later dispersed and the traffic was restored, they said.

Earlier, on Friday morning, several Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) (Ekta Ugrahan) leaders were detained across the state by police ahead of the outfit's protest.

The farmer union had planned a protest outside the District Administrative Complex here and also proposed to hold a gathering at the Bhucho Khurd village.

Farmer leaders said police used tear gas and blocked their entry when they tried to move towards the district administrative complex here for the protest.

Amid the traffic jam, visuals showed a woman stuck on the national highway carrying an infant in her arms and an ambulance facing a difficult time navigating the hold-up.

Some school vans were also seen stuck in the jam.

As farmers protested elsewhere in the state, visuals from the Barnala district showed a scuffle between a group of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) members and police at Tapa.

The farmers were trying to head towards Bathinda but were stopped by police. The union members then tried to cross the barricades on their way, but they were prevented from moving forward.

The union leaders claimed that several of their members were detained and taken into preventive custody by police.

"Many of our leaders have been detained at different parts of the state, including Bathinda, Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Moga," a senior leader of the farmers' outfit, Sukhdev Singh, said.

"We have been demanding the release of two BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) leaders who have been lodged in Bathinda jail since April last year. Their arrests came after our union supported a group of teachers who were protesting against alleged corruption at a school," he said.

Singh said talks had also been going on with the authorities regarding their release in recent days, and they had received assurances that the issue would be resolved.

At many places in the state, the farmers staged 'dharnas' against their leaders being detained on Friday, he added. PTI SUN PRK PRK