FIR against 150 farmers after clash over waste plant

Ghaziabad: A day after two cops were injured during a clash with farmers who broke into a solid waste management plant in Tronica City, an FIR was filed against 150 farmers on Monday, at least 50 of them women.A complaint submitted by GMC sanitation and food inspector Sanjeev Kumar said around 2pm on Feb 15, five persons—Neeraj Tyagi, Monu, Umesh, Ravindra Tyagi and Chetan—came to the plant with 150 associates, many of them armed. The accused incited the crowd, which then broke the lock and forced open the plot's main gate to enter, it said.
When cops reached the spot and tried to intervene, they were allegedly assaulted as protesters pelted stones. Several cops were injured, the FIR said. The accused also obstructed govt work, staged a sit-in inside the plot, and damaged CCTV cameras installed at the plant.Loni ACP Siddharth Gautam said FIR named the five accused and 150 others under BNS sections 191(2) (rioting), 191(3) (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 121(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety for others), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324(4) (mischief causing damage to the amount of 50 rupees), 125 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 333 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. GMC health officer Mithlesh Kumar said work on the plant began in 2020 and is 70% complete, with machinery installed and finishing work underway at a cost of over Rs 18 crore. Farmers from Mirpur Hindu and Pachayra, Badarpur, Nawada, Sungarpur, Allipur, Mandola, Khanpur Japti and Harampur are opposing the project, fearing environmental damage and disease risks. Protesters have been staging a sit-in at a Shiv temple in Mirpur Hindu village, claiming that the plant will increase the risk of diseases in the area.