CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Police have decided to withdraw their earlier decision to invoke provisions of the National Security Act against the protesting farmers who are part of the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation.
This comes a day after they issued a statement saying that they were implementing the process of detaining office bearers of the protesting farmer outfits under Section 2(3) of the National Security Act, 1980, to maintain law and order and prevent criminal activities.
Sibash Kabiraj, IGP (Ambala Range), said that the matter of invoking provisions of the National Security Act on a few farm union leaders had been reconsidered.
"Haryana Police appeals to the protestors and their leaders to maintain peace and cooperate with the authorities in maintaining law and order,’’ he said.
Kabiraj further said that as of now the police will not initiate proceedings to seize the assets of the farmers who have damaged public property, as they have still not entered Haryana, but if they enter the state and cause damage to public property, seizure proceedings will be initiated.
He mentioned that, in the ongoing farmers' protests, 30 policemen have been injured at the Shambhu border.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced Rs 1 crore in compensation and a government job for the sister of deceased farmer Shubhkaran Singh. Mann mentioned that legal action would be taken against the culprits.
Another protesting farmer, Darshan Singh (62), from Amargarh in Bathinda district, died at the Khanouri border, taking the death toll to five during the ongoing Delhi Chalo protest. He felt uneasy on the intervening nights of Thursday and Friday, was taken to the hospital and died.