A peaceful protest march towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Chandigarh’s Sector 33 involving over 600 activists from the Yuva Kisan Ekta turned violent on Tuesday, 9 December. Around eight policemen and 10 activists reportedly sustained injuries in the violence.
The march, which began from the gurudwara in Sector 34, was organised to demonstrate against the government’s agriculture laws. The protesters, seen raising slogans of “Jai Jawaana, Jai Kisaan” (hail the soldier, hail the farmer), were moving towards the BJP office to lock its doors in an effort to express solidarity with the farmers.
However, as police barricaded the roads to stop the march, the members of the Yuva Kisan Ekta reportedly broke through the barricades with a tractor and jeep, and pelted stones at the police personnel. The friction between both the parties had turned into a clash when the police lathicharged the agitators and employed the use of water cannons.
Protesters Vs Activists
Some activists reportedly damaged police vehicles and climbed atop the water cannon.
“They wanted to lay siege to the BJP state office Kamalam and were stopped at the barricading in Sector 34, but the protesters became violent,” a police officer reportedly told Hindustan Times.
Amid the clash, police was injured and several protesters sustained head injuries following the use of force by the police. Videos of the incident on social media show that the agitators came forward with joint hands in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, as a protester’s turban came off during the scuffle.
In a video that has emerged on social media, a protester even challenged the police saying, “dande maro, dande maro, dande maro” (hit me with your cane).
However, even after the clash with the police, the protesters reached the BJP office and raised slogans against the ruling party. They were stopped when they tried to burn an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The protest was followed by a dharna, until superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal arrived at the scene, directing the activists to leave.
Although no one was arrested, several protesters were detained and booked for rioting, obstructing public servants from performing their duties, assault, disobedience and damaging public property at the Sector 34 police station, Hindustan Times reported.
(with inputs from The Hindustan Times)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)