Shahjahanpur: 15 held after clash over road widening

The police said the the decision to shift the temple to another location was taken for widening of the highway. The farmers allegedly pelted the police team with stones, leaving three government vehicles damaged. The police used mild force to disperse the crowd.

Shahjahanpur SP S Anand said the situation was under control and 15 persons were arrested. No one was injured in the incident, he claimed.

The police said members of the farmers’ union, Khetihar Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh (Arajnetik), were holding a protest at Chini Mill ground in Tilhar for nearly a month over stray animals damaging their crop.

Circle Officer BS Vir Kumar said the union on Tuesday held a mahapanchayat in which around 500 people participated. “The district administration and police officials reached the spot and took a memorandum from farmers. But suddenly, union president Sudhir Kumar Chauhan announced that they will go to the temple at Kachiyani Khera to protest its shifting to another place. When the police tried to stop them from going to Kachiyani Khera, the protesters started pelting stones on cops,” he said.