The ongoing tussle over the ‘forcible’ possession of agricultural land in Fatehgarh Channa village by the Trident group today led to yet another bloody clash between the policemen and agitating farmers, resulting in injuries to at least 30 persons, including seven cops. The farmers, who had vowed to take back their land from the Trident group, today marched towards the disputed land and clashed with the police, who had to use tear gas shells and plastic bullets to disperse them. This is not their first standoff with the police, a few months ago too they had clashed with the cops after being gheraoed in the village gurdwara. The protesting farmers, under the aegis of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) Ugrahan group, have been gathering at the village gurdwara since Monday. Today, the village turned into a virtual battleground when a mob of about 2,000 farmers armed with lathis and other sharp-edged weapons marched towards the disputed land around 2.30 pm, shouting slogans against the government. The 600-strong posse of security personnel, including Punjab Police commandos and CISF personnel, first used lathis and burst tear-gas shells before firing several rounds of plastic bullets at the farmers to prevent them from entering the Trident complex. At least 25 farmers and seven policemen were injured in the free-for-all on the outskirts of this village. While many farmers were rushed to Dhanaula Civil hospital, a few were referred to Government Rajindra hospital in Patiala. Later, many of them, some with blood oozing from their wounds, once again gathered at the gurdwara, where they are now sitting on an indefinite dharna. Decrying the use of force by the authorities and charging them with supporting the Trident group, BKU (Ekta) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan and general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said: “We will continue our indefinite dharna till we get back the farmers’ land. We will not be frightened by the use of force”. While Deputy Commissioner Surjit Singh Dhillon said the “situation is under control now, and precautionary measures are continuing”, Barnala SSP Naresh Arora said at least seven police personnel have received injuries during the clash. Later, SAD(A) leader Simranjit Singh Mann came to visit the agitating farmers along with SAD leader Daljit Singh Bittu. Condemning the incident, he accused SAD(Badal) of not coming to the farmers’ aid.
