BJP leader Amit Shah in a poll rally last month had asked people of Ludhiana to send Ravneet Singh Bittu to Parliament, promising them that he will make him a 'bada aadmi' (a big man).
Hours after the macabre crime, a man wearing the blue robes of the Sikhs' Nihang order appeared before the media, claiming that he had 'punished' the victim for 'desecrating' a holy book.
A team of three Union ministers will hold talks on Monday with a delegation of farmer leaders, who are planning to march towards Delhi to press for their demands.
Delhi Police has given permission to the farmers to hold their 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' with the condition of gathering not exceeding to 5,000, no tractor trolleys, no march at the Ramlila Maidan, and made elaborate security arrangements that may lead to a heavy traffic jam in the national capital on March 14, officials on Wednesday said.
Vehicles entering Delhi were being checked and pickets were increased at Delhi-Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu borders.
Due to a 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' convened by farmers at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday, the Delhi Police has beefed up security and deployed heavy force for checking vehicles, which might lead to traffic snarls in the central parts of the city, officials said.
As the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation of farmers entered the third day on Thursday, two key border points between Delhi and Haryana remained closed for traffic, while security personnel in anti-riot gear conducted drills and mock exercises to ensure their fool-proof preparation.
Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday said a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
Ahead of farmers' 'Delhi Chalo March', the Delhi Police has intensified security arrangements at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders and installed nails along with barricades to prevent vehicles carrying protesters from entering the city, officials said on Sunday.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday said the Centre should convene a daylong Parliament session to bring a legislation on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, a key demand of protesting farmers.
Dhillon told reporters that IPS Section 304 slapped against the Nihang could be converted into Section 302 (murder) following further investigation.
Farmers from Punjab clashed with Haryana police at two border points between the states on Tuesday, facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break past barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital. The police lobbed tear gas shells -- some of them dropped from a drone -- and tried to disperse groups of stone-pelting protesters in the face-off that last several hours at Shambhu border near Ambala in Haryana.
While protesters wait for the farm laws to be repealed in Parliament, everyone at the Singhu echoes one sentiment: That they will remember this one year spent in protest at Singhu till their dying day. Nitin Kumar reports
Before bidding farewell to Singhu, some farmers performed havans and sang kirtans, and some danced to bhangra songs to mark the day as 'Vijay Diwas'.
The visuals on social media also showed huge traffic on the National Highway-24 and Sarai Kale Khan where vehicles were crawling. Water from the overflowing Yamuna river reached ITO, a key route to commute from east Delhi to central Delhi and Connaught Place.
The Yamuna surged to a record 208.48 metres at 8 am, the Central Water Commission said on Thursday, adding that it is likely to rise to 208.75 metres by 4 pm.
India's capital -- New Delhi -- is witnessing farmers from Punjab and Haryana sitting in at the Singhu and Tikri border points for the past five days, braving water cannons, tear gas and the biting cold. Their reason to protest - the Centre's new farm laws. Here's what it looks like.
Farmers have taken down their settlements and have vacated the borders around Delhi, which were their protesting sites for the last one year.
Emotions ran high as the farmers performed ardas (prayers) and havan to thank the almighty and started their 'victory march' from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur protest sites to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in convoys of tractors, bedecked with colourful flowers and lights and blaring songs of jubilation.
With farmers ending their over a year-long agitation, the protesters on Thursday started dismantling tents and collecting their items from Singhu border, which had become their home away from home, even as some of them started leaving Ghazipur border despite the Samyukta Kisan Union giving a call for their departure from December 11.
Police have advised people to use the navigation app 'Mapmyindia' to get around the city till the restrictions are in place.
Carrying flags and shouting slogans, thousands of farmers gathered at various entry points into the national capital in a determined bid to push their way through as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march while police blocked them with barricades, teargas shells and batons.
Labh Singh, who runs a salon in Kurukshetra, has put up a stall a Singhu border and is providing free service to the protesting farmers. He has come with five workers.
The farmers lifted blockades on highways at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders and took out a 'Victory March' to celebrate the repeal of three contentious farm laws and the Centre's written assurance to fulfil their other demands, including constituting a committee for legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
The agriculture ministry also reiterated it is ready to find a "logical solution" to the issues raised by protesting farmer unions.
The Delhi Police on Thursday detained 15 more people for their suspected involvement in the violence during the farmers' tractor parade in the national capital on January 26, officials said.
Bilkis had expressed her willingness to join the farmers' protest at the Delhi-Haryana border at Singhu.
Those gathered at the Tikri border continued to hold ground as wellA decision on whether they would head to the designated protest site is expected soon.
The Delhi Traffic Police took to Twitter to inform people about road closures and advised them to take alternative routes to avoid inconvenience.
'I was posted in different states of the country. We are also the son of a farmer. I come here as a farmer'
The decision has been taken to 'maintain public safety and averting public emergency' under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017
Many locals are coming forward and extending a helping hand to protesting farmers who are facing difficulties like power outage, unavailability of water and lack of sanitation at Singhu border, the epicenter of the ongoing farmers against the three contentious agri laws.
Farmers have been protesting at various places in Delhi and Haryana and have rejected the central government's offer to hold talks on December 3 saying that imposing conditions for starting a dialogue is an insult to them.
For the past one year, an overwhelming number of farmers have been camping at the Singhu border area of Delhi, braving by turns biting cold, monsoon rains, COVID pandemic scare and also accusations of 'creating obstructions,' but the spirt of solidarity has allowed them to soldier on against all odds.
As the farmers prepare to leave their protest sites on Delhi's borders on Saturday after the government repealed the farm laws and acceded to their other demands, many say they will reinstall their tents in their villages as a symbol of their long, arduous struggle.
Farmers from across the states arrived at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Monday early morning protesting over unemployment.
'There is nothing more this government can do now to break our agitation.' 'It has used all the tactics and has failed'
Clashes broke out at multiple places and Delhi's borders resembled a virtual battle zone with restless crowds of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, milling around and a sea of police personnel keeping them at bay.
Security remained tight at the Delhi borders with hundreds of personnel deployed at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri where the farmers have been camping.
A day after a scuffle between agitating wrestlers and police personnel, the police Thursday beefed up security and surveillance at Jantar Mantar and at Delhi borders, deploying additional manpower, bolstering CCTV coverage and raising barricades to prevent the entry of farmers who were coming to support the grapplers.
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