NEW DELHI: A day after Delhi convulsed as mobs resorted to violence amid the farmers’ tractor rally, the police on Wednesday launched a crackdown, adding names of several farmer union leaders to the 25 first information reports (FIRs) filed in connection with the riots.
Delhi Police Commissioner S N Srivasatava squarely blamed leaders like Satnam Singh Pannu, Darshan Pal Singh and others for giving provocative speeches at Mukarba Chowk to instigate the mob. Others like Bhuta Singh and Bhurj Gill at the Tikri border and Rakesh Singh Tikait at Ghazipur instigated the people, which led to the violence, he charged.
ALSO WATCH:
“No one will be spared and strict action will be taken against everyone involved, who incited the violence,” he said. The police later sent show cause notices to farmer leaders like Darshan Pal Singh and asked them to identify members of their union who took part in the riots. The police are scanning CCTV footage and using the facial recognition tool to identify more culprits. As many as 394 police personnel were injured and many of them are in serious condition in the ICU.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of agitating farmer unions, on Wednesday announced its decision to postpone the proposed march to Parliament on February 1, the budget day and observe fast on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30 as atonement. Bharatiya Kisan Union Punjab (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said, “the morcha regrets the Red Fort incident and accept moral responsibility for it.’’Rajewal and Swaraj Abhiyan president Yogendra Yadav alleged that Punjabi actor-singer Deep Sidhu and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee were behind the mob violence and added that they would expose the ‘conspiracy’ of the government. In a related development, the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (RKMS) announced its withdrawal of support to the farmers’ agitation. “We cannot continue to join forces with people who have a different direction,” said VM Singh, its national president, in Ghazipur.