Day after farmer-police face-off, FIRs against 2,000 in Bathinda

Bathinda: A day after a showdown between police and activists of farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), Bathinda police on Sunday registered five separate FIRs at five police stations against over 2,000 persons.The charges include blocking a national highway and endangering law and order. One case has been registered against 1,400–1,500 activists for assembling in Jeond village and moving onto the national highway, which they blocked for several hours. Police stated that the protesters broke barricades, forcing them to use tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.Another case has been registered against 250–300 activists for reaching near Gurdwara Laverisar at Bhucho and allegedly breaking barricades. A separate case has been registered against 200–220 activists who assembled at the T-point on the Bathinda–Malout road. Police said the protesters attempted to breach the cordon, compelling them to use some force to stop them.Yet another case has been registered against 150–170 activists at the T-point on the Bathinda–Barnala road, who allegedly tried to break the cordon to reach the Bathinda district administrative complex to launch an indefinite protest.An additional case has been registered for allegedly laying siege to Bathinda DSP Gurpreet Singh when he went for parleys with the protesting farmers.Bathinda SP (City) Narinder Singh said the protesters ignored repeated requests by duty magistrates to vacate the national highway and stop disrupting traffic. "Two cases have been registered at Bathinda Cantonment police station, two at Rampura Sadar police station and one at Bathinda Sadar police station. The cases have been registered against unidentified activists, but police are scanning video and CCTV footage to identify them and take action," he said.BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), demanding the release of its activists Shagandeep Singh and Baldev Singh, had called for laying siege to the Bathinda district administrative complex on February 6. Both were arrested on April 5, 2025, after BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) activists clashed with police at Rampura Phool while supporting protesting teachers of the Adarsh School in Chaoke village. They have been in jail for over 10 months.