Chandigarh: A 23-year-old farmer died at Haryana’s Khanauri border, where protesting farmers clashed with the police this week. Farmers’ group AIKS (All-India Kisan Sabha) alleged he died during the police action, which the Haryana police have denied. The farmers have also suspended their protest march to Delhi for two days, though the sit-in protest will continue. A doctor at a Patiala hospital where Shubh Karan Singh was taken, said he had sustained a bullet wound.
Shubh Karan, a resident of Bathinda, was the son of Charanjit Singh, said farmer leader Kaka Singh Kotra. His body has been kept at the Rajendra Hospital and a post-mortem is awaited. Confirming the death, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the young farmer was the owner of 2 acres of land. His mother died early and he was raised by his grandmother.
The Haryana Police had fired tear gas shells at the advancing farmers to thwart their attempts to breach the barricades at the border, the farmers said. The march was continuing after the farmer leaders rejected a proposal made by the government yesterday. It was the fourth round of talks to break the deadlock.
The farmers have been protesting with a series of demands, which include the enactment of a law to guarantee a Minimum Support Price for all crops, farmer loan waiver, and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendation.
