New Delhi: Farmers from districts like Rampur, Pilibhit and Moradabad districts in Uttar Pradesh, who had gathered on the National Highway-24 at the Rampur-Moradabad border, were stopped by police from moving to the National Capital on Tuesday.
Hundreds of protesters blocked the highway in protest amid heavy deployment of police personnel. Sources at the scene told The Wire that police were in riot gear and water cannon were in place.
The Supreme Court had recently held that farmers have the right to peacefully protest. It was therefore not clear why Uttar Pradesh police stopped the farmers and protesters from proceeding.
Violating SC directive that farmers have a right to protest, UP Police stops 2000 Farmers at Moradabad. pic.twitter.com/XQA1IRNH8H
— rkhuria2 (@rkhuria2) December 22, 2020
In the above video, the interviewed protester places the estimate of farmers at 2,000 and the number of tractors at 600. He says there are 4,000 police personnel at the site.
To PTI, a Moradabad police official said that protesters outnumbered police personnel deployed on the highway.
One of the videos of the impasse circulating on social media showed a police officer leaving the site in a Toyota Innova and backtracking when stopped by protesters.
Scene from Delhi-Lucknow highway near Rampur and Moradabad. Agitated farmers attack police vechile after they were allegedly stopped by police. A senior cop seen running for reinforcements after the van was attacked and had to retreat. @Uppolice
Advertisement— Sajjad Ahmad Khan INC (@SajjadA06226593) December 22, 2020
The NH-24 runs over 400-km and connects Delhi with Lucknow via Ghazipur in Ghaziabad, where some farmers from western UP have been camping since more than three weeks, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
(With PTI inputs)
