Heightened security at Shambhu border after action against farm leaders: Top developments

NEW DELHI: The security personnel in Haryana had heavily fortified the Punjab border using concrete blocks, metal spikes, and barbed wire fencing. These measures were implemented to prevent farmers from Punjab from advancing towards the capital during their planned 'Delhi Chalo' campaign.
Police officials in Punjab apprehended multiple farmer leaders on Wednesday, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal in Mohali. The arrests occurred after they concluded their meeting with a central government delegation, headed by Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh.

Punjab Police on Thursday shifted Dallewal from Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar to another hospital. The police force cleared protestors from their demonstration points at Shambhu and Khanauri, where they had been stationed for over a year. Using JCB equipment, authorities removed the temporary constructions and platforms that were erected at these two locations.

The discussion in Chandigarh marked the seventh dialogue between the groups, with the central team also including consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi and commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.

Here are the major developments in the farm stir on Thursday:
- Haryana security personnel began removing cement barricades at the Shambhu border following the eviction of protesting farmers. JCB machines were deployed to clear concrete blocks and reopen the Shambhu-Ambala road, closed for over a year. The barricades were initially erected to prevent Punjab farmers from reaching Delhi as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' movement.
- Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who had reached the meeting with Union ministers in an ambulance in Mohali after fasting for months. Police evicted farmers from protest sites at Shambhu and Khanauri, dismantling temporary structures using JCB machines.

- Meanwhile, Punjab Police shifted Dallewal from Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar to another hospital. He was brought to PIMS Hospital in Jalandhar in the early hours at around 2 am on Thursday.
- The seventh round of talks in Chandigarh involved discussions about farmers' demands, particularly a law for minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
- Upon returning to Mohali, farmers encountered heavy barricading; detainees included Abhimanyu Kohar, Kaka Singh Kotra and Manjit Singh Rai.

- Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema supported the eviction, citing the negative impact on industries and businesses due to the prolonged highway closures.
- The protesting farmers, organized by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, had been at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13 of the previous year, when their march to Delhi was blocked.