Talks fail, gherao of mini-secretariat to continue till demands are met: Union leaders

Chandigarh/Karnal: A large number of farmers squatted at the gates of the district headquarters here on Tuesday, locked in a showdown with Haryana's BJP-led government over a police lathi-charge last month.

Farmers have announced that they will stay outside the mini secretariat throughout the night and added that their sit-in will be indefinite till the authorities accept their demands. They further said that arrangements of food for protesters will be made at the protest site.

The gherao began in the evening, several hours after farmers from Haryana and neighbouring states reached Karnal's New Anaj Mandi for a mahapanchayat, riding tractors and motorcycles.

Marching on foot from the mahapanchayat venue to the mini-secretariat five kilometres away, farmers faced a water cannon as they neared the complex. They jumped some barricades, but there was no other serious confrontation with police along the way.

The protesters are demanding action over a police lathi-charge in Karnal on August 28.

Before this, the police tried to speak to the farmers to persuade them not to march towards the mini secretariat but in vain.

Farmer leader Yogendra Yadav earlier in the day tweeted that talks with the Karnal district administration had failed.

Yadav further said that he, along with Rakesh Tikait and some other farmer leaders, had been detained by the police at Namaste Chowk. They were, however, allowed to go later.

During the talks that lasted for nearly two hours, the 11-member delegation of the farmers insisted on FIR against IAS officer Ayush Sinha, who was the SDM at Karnal when farmers were cane-charged on August 28.

A video had gone viral after the lathi-charge that showed Sinha asking cops to 'smash the heads' of protesters breaking down barricades.

Senior leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), including Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Darshan Pal, Yogendra Yadav and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, were among those who led farmers into the city.

Tikait tweeted after the meeting saying that the Karnal administration was not ready to listen to their demands. He said either their demands be met or else the government should arrest them.

Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, Karnal's Inspector General of Police Mamta Singh and Superintendent of Police Ganga Ram Punia, were among the officials who took part in the talks with the farm leaders.

"Farmers stand determined and resolute, and the government cannot get away with the murder. We stand firmly behind the protest, and condemn the actions of the Haryana government," said Yadav.

Earlier in the day, an official spokesperson in Chandigarh said ground intelligence reports indicated that some elements from Rambha, some from Nissing and adjoining areas have reached the Anaj Mandi, armed with sticks and iron rods. Police and the administration have spoken to the Kisan leaders who have tried to persuade such elements to leave the venue, but they did not pay any heed.

The Karnal district administration and cops have warned these mischievous elements not to take the law in their hands and maintain order.