No MSP, 'bullets' for farmers; youth dies in police action

Chandigarh: Farmers leaders on Wednesday put the 'Delhi Chalo' march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri, one of the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they will decide the next course of action on Friday evening.

Punjab farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu had resumed their agitation early in the morning after a two-day lull following the fourth round of talks on Sunday night with a panel of three Union ministers in an attempt to break the deadlock.

Police fired tear gas shells at the two border points multiple times to disperse groups of protesters when they attempted to move towards the layers of barricades stalling their march to the national capital.

Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu with their tractortrolleys and trucks agitating for their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.

Farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa identified the dead farmer as Subhkaran Singh (21), a resident of Baloke village in Punjab's Bathinda district.

Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital's medical superintendent H S Rekhi told reporters that three people, one of them dead, were brought to the hospital from Khanauri.

The deceased had an injury to his head and the other two are stable, Rekhi said.

A Haryana Police officer said around 12 police personnel were injured when they were attacked with lathis and stones thrown at them in Khanauri.

Talking to reporters at Shambhu, Pandher said farmers will review the situation that developed at Khanauri.

"We will discuss the whole issue and the next decision will be announced on Friday evening," he said.

The farmers claimed that Haryana Police personnel fired rubber bullets, besides tear gas shells. (PTI)