The Mahasangh, an umbrella body of farmer organisations from different states, has given the call of the agitation to demand farm loan waiver apart from seeking minimum 50 per cent profit over production costs of their crops on the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission Report. The Mahasangh, an umbrella body of farmer organisations from different states, has given the call of the agitation to demand farm loan waiver apart from seeking minimum 50 per cent profit over production costs of their crops on the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission Report.

Ahead of a call by farmer unions to march towards Delhi on Friday, the Haryana Police have detained hundreds of activists and leaders of the agitating farmers. The police have confirmed 122 preventive arrests. The farmers, who are demanding farm loan waiver and remunerative prices of their crops, have given a call for “Delhi gherao” to block entries leading to the national capital on Friday.

The Haryana police kept raiding the houses of farmers’ leaders during Wednesday night to foil their plans to lead the tractor-trolley processions towards the national capital. Sources said that procession march of farmers along with their tractor-trolleys was stopped by the police in Kurukshetra district. There are reports of protests by the farmer groups from many areas of Haryana.

Still, hundreds of farmers from Madhya Pradesh have reached Faridabad. “They are trying to get permission to enter to the national capital,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express. Farmers have also gathered at a place Khedi Chopta in Hisar district to start their march on Friday.

There is heavy deployment of police, including 25 companies of paramilitary forces, in Haryana. Inspector General of Police and Haryana Police spokesperson Mamta Singh told The Indian Express Thursday evening that the preventive arrests had been made from different parts of the state.

Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) acting president Karam Singh Mathana, BKU’s Kurukshetra district president Krishan Kumar Kalal and Bhartiya Kisan Sanghrash Samiti state unit president Suresh Koth were arrested on Wednesday night.

BKU spokesperson Rakesh Bains told The Indian Express Thursday morning that the police had detained Haryana BKU president Gurnam Singh Chaduni’s brother Gurdeep Singh and son Harashpal after a raid at the residence of Chaduni in his native village Chaduni in Kurukshetra district. “There were 20-30 policemen in the raiding team who were drunk and misbehaved with the family members of Chaduni,” alleged Bains.

Police spokesperson Mamta Singh said they would conduct an inquiry, if any such complaint was made to them.

According to Bains, farmers were also arrested from railway stations in Punjab. Later in the day, Bains was also arrested along with other farmers.

When hundreds of farmers going towards Delhi on tractor-trolleys were stopped by the police near Shahbad town of Kurukshetra, they sat on dharna while parking their tractors in Shahbad grain market. According to Haryana DGP B S Sandhu, the state police had urged the police of neighbouring states to stop the activists of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh in tractor-trolleys.

The Mahasangh, an umbrella body of farmer organisations from different states, has given the call of the agitation to demand farm loan waiver apart from seeking minimum 50 per cent profit over production costs of their crops on the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission Report. Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly Abhay Singh Chautala has condemned the arrest of farmers leaders in Haryana.

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