In a significant action against the ongoing farmers’ protest, the Haryana Police has decided to cancel the passports and visas of those protesters involved in violence and damaged public properties along the Punjab-Haryana border.

Deputy superintendent of police, Ambala, Joginder Sharma said the cops have identified those involved in violence coming to Haryana from Punjab in the name of farmers’ protest.

“We have identified them with CCTV and drone cameras. We will request the ministry of home affairs and the embassy to cancel their visas and passports… Their photos, name and address will be given to the passport office. We are working on cancelling their passports…,” Joginder Sharma said in a video statement.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and a farm loan waiver.

The Punjab farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

On February 13, protesting farmers reportedly damaged multi-layer barricades put up by the police to stop them at the border, by removing cement and barbed wire fencing with tractors. The farmers were trying to break the barricades to cross the Shambhu border to enter Haryana from Punjab and head to Delhi.

Even as tear gas shells were dropped via drone and water cannons were used to deter the protestors from breaching the police bandobast, the farmers were seen forcibly trying to break the barricades. The farmers also vandalised barriers at the Haryana-Punjab border at Moonak in Sangrur.

On February 23, as fresh clashes broke out, the Haryana Police used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab’s border with the state. The Haryana Police also said it was withdrawing its earlier decision to invoke provisions of the National Security Act (NSA) against some farmer leaders who are a part of the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

The protesting farmers asserted that the cremation of Shubhkaran Singh, who died days ago, would not take place till the Punjab government registers a case against those responsible for it. Amid the standoff, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced compensation for Singh who died at the Khanauri border.

Punjab Police registers murder case in farmer’s death

Seven days after the death of Shubhkaran Singh during clashes between protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel at the Khanauri border point, the Punjab Police on Wednesday night registered a case of murder.

Shubhkaran (21), a native of Bathinda, was killed and 12 security personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. The incident occurred when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards police barricades, put up to halt their “Delhi Chalo” march.

The Punjab Police has registered a case under sections 302 (murder) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the Indian Penal Code at the Patran Police station in Patiala.