CHANDIGARH: Several farmer leaders including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal were detained Wednesday by Punjab Police in Mohali while they were headed to Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites after a meeting with a central delegation here, a farmer leader claimed.
Guramneet Singh Mangat also expressed concern the Punjab Police may evict protesters from the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Earlier in the day, a fresh round of meeting between farmer leaders and a central delegation in Chandigarh to discuss various demands farmers remained inconclusive, even as the Union ministers attending the talks called the farmers' interests paramount.
During the meeting that lasted for more than three hours, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the talks would continue and the next meeting will be held on May 4.
"The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. The discussions took place in a positive and constructive manner. The talks will continue. The next meeting will take place on May 4," Chouhan said after the meeting.
The police action came after the meeting as farmer leaders entered Mohali from Chandigarh.
Heavy barricading was raised in Mohali to prevent the farmers from heading towards their respective destinations.
Apart from Pandher and Dallewal, Abhimanyu Kohar, Kaka Singh Kotra and Manjit Singh Rai have been detained, farmer leader Mangat said, amid reports suggesting a heavy police force has been deployed near Shambhu and Khanauri border points as well.
Police personnel from various districts have been deployed near the Shambhu and Khanauri border points where the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are sitting in their protest since February last year.
Farmers said ambulances, buses and firefighting vehicles have been deployed near the protest sites.