Amil Bhatnagar

“I don’t want this job. I wanted to work because I wanted to speak the truth. And I wasn’t allowed to do it,” said Rakshit Singh, who covered banking and finance for the channel.

Heading to hospital, out for work, shopping for clothes — many who were killed in last year’s riots were going about their lives when they were caught in the violence. A year later, their families can’t help but wonder if things could have been different. The third of a series that tracks families of the 53 victims.

The BJP attempt to retain its Jat base comes ahead of the zila panchayat elections. “BJP-backed candidates had won 25 of the 26 zila panchayats in west UP last time and the Jat community has a sizeable presence in at least 18,” pointed out a senior BJP functionary.

At present, police are investigating FIRs and counter-FIRs, naming the family members and associates of both deceased. They, however, maintain that action will be taken only on the basis of facts and not by pressure by two opposing sides.

"There is a narrative that the protest is going dull and that the sites are being cleared. We would like to clarify that meetings are being held in dozens of villages across Punjab and Haryana... There is an entire wave and it will not die down," said Major Singh Punewal from Kul Hind Kisan Sabha.

In a protest that began largely with a push by farmers from Punjab, many acknowledge that Tikait has helped mobilise support from Western Uttar Pradesh, which proved crucial in ensuring the stir did not die down after the violence on Republic Day.

Addressing a farmers' rally, she attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "andolanjeevi" remark in Parliament, saying it was targeted at farmers.

"This is a very important movement and we all need to be together. What is happening here is god’s work and we will do everything in our capacity to take it further,” said Acharya Pramod Krishnam of Sambhal’s Kalki Foundation and Peethadhishwar of Kalki Dham.

A theme common to both mahapanchayats in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, which saw communal violence in 2013, was an appeal to keep religious identities aside and come together as farmers.

Since the beginning of the farmers’ agitation at Tikri, protesters have been on the Haryana side of the border, separated from Delhi by several layers of metal barricades.

On Sunday, the main stage at the protest site was packed with hundreds of people listening to the day’s speeches. Some were even seen standing on the dividers due to lack of space.

Farmers have also beefed up security following the violence at Singhu to ensure “anti-social elements” do not enter the protest.

A group of 200 men had got past three layers of security barricades on Friday, claimed that the farmers’ agitation had affected their livelihood, and damaged tents and shelters while clashing with farm protesters.

Under the shadow of heavy police deployment, the Ghazipur protest site grew overnight — hours after the Uttar Pradesh administration issued an official order to vacate the protest site, deploying more than a thousand policemen nearby.

By evening, as police in anti-riot gear started spreading out at the site, the protesters camped there and their leaders, including BKU's Rakesh Tikait, said they would not leave.

In a statement issued late Tuesday evening, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU, Ugrahan faction), said the message of today's march "would have been stronger if it had been kept free of communal issues".

Kulwant Singh Sandhu, general secretary of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha who participated in the talks Wednesday, said: “For a change, today's meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere... we hardly had a confrontation with the Union Ministers".

As part of their protest, on January 26, thousands of farmers from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders are set to take out a tractor march on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road.

From manning the stage, guarding the entry with sticks to coordinating the day's events, women took the lead at the Singhu border protest on Monday to mark Women Farmers’ Day.

Farmers further said protesters will not carry weapons or indulge in inflammatory speeches or violence.

More than 20,000 doctors and healthcare workers reportedly received the first dose of vaccine on Saturday. The Sunday Express spoke to some of them. They shared stories of their battle against Covid-19 in the last 11 months.

The state health department vaccinated 21,291 health workers at 317 centres. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited different hospitals here to inspect the process.

On Monday, the Supreme Court indicated that it could stay the implementation of the new farm laws and proposed the setting up of a committee.

On Monday morning, several protesters, including children, gathered around for a glimpse of the new attraction. Each truck has 10 figures, depicting a particular scene. A small board is attached to the side of the vehicle explaining each.