Farmers Drive Tractors into Red Fort As Police Resort to Tear Gas Shelling and Lathi-Charge

New Delhi, 27 Jan 2021 [Fik/News Sources]: Bracing the lathi-charge of Police personnel and overcoming barricades, more than 20 tractors entered the iconic Red Fort, hours after the farmers’ parade began on the eve of Republic Day on Tuesday.

Protesters were seen shouting slogans at the Red Fort as they drove tractors with national flags, reports NDTV.

Thousands of farmers comprising mostly youths entered the national capital from the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Ghazipur border on Tuesday after breaking the barricades and clashed with the police near Akshardham intersection of east Delhi as they took out a huge tractor rally against the government’s new agricultural laws.

As soon as the farmers reached ITO intersection and tried to move towards the Red Fort, chaotic scenes were seen as farmers clashed with the police personnel. The police fired tear gas shells on the farmers and also resorted to lathi charge multiple times.

Protesting Farmers were seen standing on the road looking for a cover while policemen on an overbridge firing tear gas shells on them near Akshardham.

The farmers also allegedly damaged several vehicles with their tractors as the clashes with the Police turned violent.

Many of the farmers and the police personnel were left injured in the clashes.

The visuals of the men riding horses were seen at the Karnal Bypass while the protesters were also reported breaking barricades at Singhu and Mukarba Chowk.

Farmers have been camping at the Delhi borders for the last two months now demanding scrapping of the three farm laws, passed in September during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, to liberalise the sector. So far, eleven rounds of talks between farmers and the government failed to break the impasse.

The farmers have turned down the centre’s last offer to put the laws on hold for 18 months while a special committee conducts negotiations. Farmers demand complete roll back of the contentious laws.

The three controversial laws are the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.