Latest News: Farmers Block Highways in Protest against ‘Brutal’ Police Action in Haryana

Farmers are protesting an alleged police lathi charge against farmers in Karnal, where the farmers were accused after attempting to stop state BJP chief OP Dhankar's convoy.

Angry farmers have blocked several roads across Haryana to protest "brutal" police action against farmers in neighboring Karnal. The farmers were protesting against a meeting led by Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana to discuss a upcoming municipal election.

Farmers are seen sitting on khatiyas and bamboo beds, in big numbers all over the roads, with cars, buses, and trucks backed up for at least three kilometres. 

Images flashed in social media showed two police officers in riot gear fighting with a man who appears to be badly injured; blood is on his shirt and left leg, and a bloody bandage is placed over his head. 

A third video depicts a big group of riot cops assembling on the highway. 

Farmers are protesting an alleged lathi charge on farmers in Karnal, where they were charged down by police after attempting to stop the convoy of state BJP chief OP Dhankar. 

Dhankar was on his way to Karnal for a state-level conference of all BJP leaders and elected representatives. Farmers allegedly attacked his car with sticks as it exited the Bastara toll plaza (between Karnal and Panipat). 

According to reports, the farmers wanted to approach the meeting, which was taking place around 30 kilometres away. The lathi charge was then carried out by the cops. 

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body under which several farmer groups have come together to protest the Farm laws, criticized the police for their "brutal" acts and called on farmers across the state to meet for a coordinated protest later today. 

Protests and blockades on key roads and highways, like the nine-month-long protest by thousands of farmers camped out near the Delhi border, have been criticized for disrupting vehicle traffic.