Noida/Aligarh: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait was detained by the Aligarh Police on Wednesday while on his way to Greater Noida to participate in a meeting of farmer leaders, a police official said.
The directive to participate in the Panchayat (the meeting) was issued by BKU during an emergency meeting chaired by its president Naresh Tikait in Sisauli, Muzaffarnagar district, on Tuesday evening following the apprehension of numerous farmers in Noida. Out of the 18 zones of Uttar Pradesh, farmers from five zones—Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Agra, and Moradabad—participated.
Rakesh Tikait was detained at Tappal police station, but he eluded the officers and absconded from the police station premises. The police officers pursued him with their contingent. Rakesh Tikait along with supporters intercepted a vehicle at Yamuna Expressway and attempted to flee, but the police successfully recaptured him.
He questioned the duration of their custody, stating, “If you keep us confined, then whom shall we negotiate with?” He cautioned that if the officials persist with such demeanor, the farmers’ agitation would escalate substantially. “We will take a tractor march to Lucknow if we are not heard” said Rakesh Tikait.
Farmers were proceeding with demands for adequate compensation for their government-acquired land but were halted by the police near Dalit Prerna Sthal, whereupon they initiated a dharna.
The confrontation swiftly intensified, with altercations and skirmishes erupting as farmers opposed the police’s endeavours to disperse them.
Police officials have purportedly been urging farmers to discontinue their journey, citing security apprehensions and the imperative to maintain civic order. Nevertheless, farmers, spearheaded by BKU leaders, have pledged to persist with their march to Zero Point, invoking their constitutional entitlement to peaceful assembly.