Hours before Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal was to begin an indefinite hunger strike at Punjab’s Khanauri border on Tuesday, he was taken to Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, said the deputy inspector-general of police of Patiala Range, reported ANI.
Dallewal was scheduled to start a hunger strike to press for farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support prices for crops. The minimum support price is the cost at which the government procures agricultural crops from farmers.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said: “Considering his health and age, he has been taken to DMC Hospital in Ludhiana, and his medical examination is being done.”
“For us, he is a respected person,” Sidhu added. “We are concerned about his health, so we have taken him for medical examination. We have not arrested him.”
Dallewal’s colleagues at the Khanauri protest site, however, alleged that the police forcibly removed Dallewal from the area during the night after breaking into his temporary hut.
“The cops came at 2.30 am, broke the fibreglass wall of the room where Dallewalji was sleeping and took him away,” Amrik Singh of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) told The Indian Express. “They locked other farmers in their huts to prevent them from intervening.”
Sarwan Singh Pandher of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha accused the Punjab, Haryana and Union governments of conducting a joint operation to detain Dallewal. “This shows that the government is scared,” he told ANI. “We demand his immediate release and call on farmers to reach Khanauri in large numbers.”
Dallewal, 70, a cancer patient known for past hunger strikes, had announced the protest on the fourth anniversary of the farmers’ movement against now-scrapped farm laws.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have planned further protests, including rallies in over 500 districts and a march towards Delhi from the Shambhu border on December 6.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, meanwhile, dismissed claims of the Centre’s involvement and stated that the decision to take Dallewal to hospital was carried out by the Punjab government.
Farmers continue to demand legal minimum support price guarantees, debt waivers, pensions and compensation for those who died during the 2020–’21 farmers’ protests. Protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points have been ongoing since February.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!