Police in India's northern state of Punjab detained hundreds of farmers detained hundreds of farmers who have been protesting for over a year for better crop prices. Authorities also used bulldozers to dismantle their makeshift camps.
Protest leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal were among those detained by the Punjab police in the early morning hours of Thursday. Dallewal was taken away in an ambulance as he had been on an indefinite hunger strike for months.
"We did not need to use any force because there was no resistance," Nanak Singh, a senior police officer, told the ANI news agency. "The farmers cooperated well and they sat in buses themselves."
"The entire road will be cleared and opened for traffic. Haryana Police will also begin their action," Singh told TV news channel NDTV.
He also said the farmers were informed beforehand.
Video footage showed police using bulldozers to demolish tents and stages.
Detentions come amid ongoing negotiations
The farmers have been protesting for more than a year, demanding the government provide a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
The farmers have been camping at the border of the neighboring state of Haryana, blocking the highway as their protest march to the capital, New Delhi, was halted by authorities.
Since last year, farmer leaders and the government have held several rounds of talks; however, no conclusion has been reached.
The seventh round of talks between farmer leaders and a central delegation concluded on Wednesday, and the next meeting is slated to be held on May 4, 2025.
"On one hand, the government is negotiating with the farmer organizations, and on the other hand, it is arresting them," Rakesh Tikait, a spokesperson for the farmer group Bhartiya Kisan Union, said on X.
