Protesting farm union leaders on Friday alleged that a conspiracy has been hatched to kill four of them and create disturbance during their proposed tractor rally on January 26.
At a late-night press conference at the Singhu border on Friday, the farmers’ leaders presented a youth who claimed that his accomplices were allegedly asked to pose as policemen and baton charge the crowd during the proposed tractor rally.
The farmers’ leaders claimed that they had caught the youth from the protest site at the Singhu border. He was later handed over to the Haryana Police. Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu alleged that attempts are being made to disrupt the ongoing agitation against the three farm laws.
The youth, who had his face covered with a scarf, claimed at the press conference that a plan has been hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are known faces in the media, at the stage on January 23.
"On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor rally by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner," the youth alleged at the press conference.
The Indian Express reported that the unidentified youth, along with a girl, levelled allegations of eve-teasing at the Singhu protest site, following which they were caught by the farmers.
The Indian Express reported, "the youth claimed that there were ten members, including two girls, who were assigned the task of inciting violence during the agitation. The youth also alleged that a person who was in 'police dress' trained them... the team of 10 was assigned the task of opening fire during the agitation, so that policemen get a false impression that the firing was being done by the farmers."
The youth claimed he had played a role in the Jat agitation violence in Haryana in 2016 and was involved in a lathi-charge at a recent rally in Karnal.
A farmers’ leader was quoted by The Indian Express as saying, “Weapons were to be supplied to this group… They also had a plan to get the national flag down to hurt the national sentiments (during tractor parade) and incite people.”
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November 28, demanding a repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.
Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP (minimum support price) and do away with the "mandi" (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
(With PTI inputs)
