Tractor Rally: Over 300 personnel had been injured in Tuesday’s violence (File)
Lucknow:
A farmer from Uttar Pradesh who died in Delhi’s ITO region whilst participating in Tuesday’s tractor rally that descended into violence and chaos, was not shot as claimed by some of his fellow protesters yesterday, the UP police mentioned today. The 26-year-old man’s post-mortem examination has confirmed that he died from injuries received in a tractor accident, police added.
“The post-mortem report clarifies that he was not shot. He died of the antemortem injuries which he received after his tractor overturned as seen in a viral video,” Avinash Chandra, a senior UP police officer, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
CCTV footage of the incident released yesterday showed the man driving a blue tractor towards police barricades as apparently the rattled safety personnel brace for effect. The speeding tractor, in an try to break by way of the cordon, rams the barricades and overturns.
While the Delhi police had mentioned yesterday that he died simply because of the accident injuries, some protesters had claimed he was shot dead.
The man, identified as Navrit Singh from Rampur, about 180 km from the national capital, had lately returned to his native village from Australia, exactly where his wife is a student. He had joined the farmers’ protest against the 3 central agriculture laws on Tuesday. “We came together to participate in the parade but never knew it would happen,” a neighbour told news agency PTI.
The tractor rally was known as by an umbrella body of 40 farmers’ unions to press for their demand for repeal of the 3 laws. The rally, as agreed by the unions, was to commence at about 11.30 AM and pass by way of the outskirts of Delhi. Thousands of farmers on tractors and other autos, nevertheless, had begun pushing into the national capital by way of unplanned routes by 8 AM, knocking down barricades and clashing with the police.
The farmers, who had been attempting to get to the iconic Red Fort in central Delhi, had been stopped by the police at ITO.
By noon, hundreds of the protesters had reached the Red Fort. A protester also hoisted a religious flag at a flagpole on the ramparts of the monument, triggering outrage.
Over 300 personnel had been injured in Tuesday’s violence and 22 situations have been registered, police mentioned today.
The farmers’ unions have distanced themselves from the violence and alleged a conspiracy to “torpedo” their peaceful movement.
With inputs from agencies