Punjab Police confirmed that the senior farmer leader Sardar Jagjit Singh Dallewal was sent to Ludhiana’s DMC Hospital for a medical check-up after his detention late last night. DIG Patiala Range, M.S. Sidhu, said Dallewal had been shifted to the hospital so that his health can be kept under watch. This came after reports of a crackdown on protesting farmers at Khanauri border.
According to farmer leaders, Dallewal was set to begin an indefinite hunger strike from today demanding legal guarantees on the Minimum Support Price and a loan waiver for farmers. However, by around 3 a.m., police dismantled tents at the site of the protest and dragged him away. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that Punjab, Haryana, and central authorities together executed the operation, breaking Dallewal’s trolley and taking him off to unknown locations.
It is a sign of fear, which is very sad,” Pandher observed. “The government must release Dallewal immediately. Such actions will only escalate tensions.” He urged people to join the ongoing protest at Khanauri border and confirmed that the planned march towards Delhi from Shambhu border on December 6 would proceed as scheduled.
The farmers’ agitation, insisting on MSP legal guarantees, loan waivers, and other key demands, continued unabated even when the police intervened last night. Leaders declared that protests would not end unless all their demands were met.
