Farmer leader Dallewal removed from site, taken to hospital

Chandigarh: Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was to begin a fast unto death to press for farmers’ demands, was allegedly forcibly removed from the Khanauri border point and taken to a Ludhiana hospital for a checkup on Tuesday. Farmers claimed that Dallewal, 70, was taken away by police as if he was “a gangster or a terrorist”. Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher alleged that Dallewal was forcibly picked by police early on Tuesday from the Khanauri border point as he slammed the Bhagwant Mann government for the police action.

Meanwhile, farmers went ahead with their programme and said farmer leader Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande will sit on a fast unto death in place of Dallewal. Calling it a “decisive battle”, they asked the Centre to resume talks with them in the next 10 days to resolve their issues. The Punjab Police action came after Dallewal gave a call for starting a fast unto death on Tuesday to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. He had also asserted that he was ready to sacrifice his life to get the farmers’ demands accepted. A senior Punjab Police officer said Dallewal was taken to the private Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in Ludhiana. Deputy Inspector General of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the administration was concerned about Dallewal’s age and health in the wake of his fast-unto-death call. “Considering his health and seniority, the administration decided that his proper medical checkup was important. We are getting his medical checkup done at DMCH, Ludhiana,” said Sidhu. Claiming that the police forcibly removed Dallewal from the spot early on Tuesday before he could begin his fast unto death, Pandher said he strongly condemned the act and demanded his immediate release.

Farmers claimed that a police team of 250 personnel reached the Khanauri border at around 2:30 am and forcibly took Dallewal away.

Initially, the farmers were not aware of Dallewal’s whereabouts but later learned that he had been taken to the DMCH.

Later, addressing the media at Khanauri border point, Pandher lashed out at Mann for the Punjab Police action and said it was the same chief minister who used to claim that he was with farmers and was fighting with the Centre as their advocate.

He asked the chief minister why the Punjab government took such a decision. “Our issues are concerned with the Central government. Why did the Punjab government take such a decision? Our elderly and senior farmer leader was taken away after misbehaving with him,” he said while referring to Dallewal.