Farmer leaders betrayed Delhi Police, 394 cops injured, 19 arrests made: Commissioner
Many injured personnel are in the ICU, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said while adding that facial recognition software is being used to track down perpetrators of the Republic Day violence.
In Short
- Farmer leaders have accused actor Deep Sidhu and gangster Lakha Sidhana of provoking protesters
- Union Minister Prakash Javadekar claimed Congress incited the farmers
- The Congress has demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's dismissal
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said "hardliners took control" of the protest at Singhu border.
Plans of the farmers' tractor rally for January 26 were first brought to the attention of the Delhi Police on January 2, the Commissioner said. He added, "As soon as we got the news, we started talks with them. Five rounds of talks were held with them."
"First we told them not to hold the rally on January 26 due to Republic Day but they insisted on that. Then, we asked them to hold the march on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway where Delhi Police assured them of all support but then again, they insisted for the march to be in Delhi only," Commissioner Shrivastava said.
He went on to add, "After five rounds of talk, we approved three routes: Singhu (63 km), Tikri (74 km) and then Ghazipur (46 km)."
"As Republic Day parade was happening, keeping in view of security of Delhi Police, we gave approval on certain terms and conditions but on January 25, we came to know that they are not going to follow the guidelines. Hardliners had taken control of the situation and they started their march at 7.30 am from Singhu Border," the Commissioner said.
He went on to add, "Leaders like Satnam Singh Pannu gave provocative speeches at Makarba chowk. Darshan Pal Singh also violated the agreement. From Ghazipur, they started their movement from 8.30 am while the timing given to them was 12 noon."
"Farmer leaders were instigating farmers and they were the ones who were refusing to move on the predetermined routes. We have videos which are showing how leaders were instigating farmers. From Ghazipur, many from Rakesh Tikait's team broke barriers and marched forward. Police had many options but it showed restraint," Commissioner SN Shrivastava told the media.
He added, "Farmer leaders were part of violence. 394 police personnel were injured, many are in ICU. 30 police vehicles were destroyed. Police used tear gas to stop farmers."
Delhi Police briefing on R-Day violence | #ITLivestream #FarmersProtest https://t.co/kWRoJYHu9c — IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 27, 2021
"Any leader found guilty will be punished, no one will be spared. Delhi Police has registered more than 25 criminal cases. We have video footage of the violence and are using facial recognition software," Commissioner SN Shrivastava said.
"Farmer leaders betrayed the Delhi police. While 50 have been detained in connection with the violence, 19 accused have been arrested. What the Delhi Police did was because of the intelligence they had," he went on to add.
"The Delhi Police Crime Branch, Special Cell, district police will all work on this case. An SIT will be formed and charges of treason may also be filed for disrespecting national tricolour," he said.