CHANDIGARH: Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has not ended his indefinite fast, despite drinking a glass of water following the release of farmers detained by the state police last week, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said on Saturday.
The Punjab government had told the Supreme Court on Friday that Dallewal had accepted water and broken his fast. However, countering this claim, Kohar clarified that Dallewal had made it clear he would take water only after all the detained farmers were released.
"And Dallewal drank a glass of water after farmer leaders were released," said Kohar, a close aide of Dallewal. "We want to make it clear that a false impression was being given that Dallewal has ended his indefinite fast. His hunger strike continues."
Dallewal, 70, is a senior leader of the joint forum of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. He began his indefinite hunger strike on 26 November last year, demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
The Punjab Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, told the Supreme Court on Friday that the farmers protesting at the Khanauri and Shambhu border points with Haryana were dispersed on 19 March, and roads and highways blocked due to the sit-ins were reopened. On that day, several protesting farmers and some of their leaders were detained by Punjab Police.
Another farmer leader, Kaka Singh Kotra, reiterated that Dallewal had refused to take water until the detained farmers were released. "He took water after the farmers were released," said Kotra.
Several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher, Abhimanyu Kohar, Kaka Singh Kotra, and others, who were detained during the 19 March police action, were released on Friday.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Pandher was freed from Muktsar jail, while Kohar, Kotra, and others were released from Patiala central jail. After their release, they met Dallewal in hospital on Friday.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa met Dallewal at the hospital in Patiala to inquire about his health. "I pray for his speedy recovery, though his health has further deteriorated after observing fast for 124 days and not consuming water for the past 10 days," Bajwa said in a post on X.
"It is highly deplorable that the CM of an agrarian state betrayed the farmer by arresting them on the pretext of a meeting. While evicting the farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, around 150 trolleys and other valuable stuff were stolen with the complicity of police under @AAPPUNJAB govt. Will CM @BhagwantMann order a free and fair probe into the matter?" alleged Bajwa.
Amidst these allegations, a police constable and his uncle have been booked for stealing a farmer’s trolley from the Khanauri protest site. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Patran) in Patiala, Inderpal Singh Chauhan, said that during the investigation, it was found that police constable Barinder Singh allegedly stole the trolley. "He will soon be arrested," Chauhan said.
The registration of the FIR follows complaints from several farmers who were part of the Shambhu and Khanauri protests. They claimed their belongings, including trolleys, were missing and might have been stolen.
The farmer leaders were detained on 19 March when they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh. The meeting had been organised to discuss the farmers' demands, especially the MSP guarantee.
As the farmers left the meeting and entered Mohali, they were met with heavy barricading, and some of their leaders were detained. The police then evicted the protesting farmers and dismantled their temporary structures at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points. Vehicular traffic resumed on the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind highways.