Big News: 34 Farmers Detained for Holding Unauthorised Protest

Noida(The Uttam Hindu): Noida police arrested 34 farmers late Wednesday night for trying to stage an unauthorized protest at Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal. The farmers, who were on their way from "34 Farmers Detained for Holding Unauthorised Protest"Zero Point, were arrested and sent to jail. Earlier, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait was arrested by Aligarh police while he was on his way to Greater Noida for a farmer leaders' meeting. Tikait, along with his followers, was arrested on the Yamuna Expressway and brought to a local police station. While not being arrested, Tikait attacked the administration for restraining farmers' marches, which has further increased tension over their claim for a better compensation deal.

On Wednesday, an 'mahapanchayat' of a large magnitude was organized at Zero Point in Greater Noida, where 123 farmers arrested earlier were released by the police. Protest, initially peaceful, was stopped after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's late-night post. Police re-arrested many farmers and vacated the protest site by midnight. With the number of protestors now less than 50, police shifted them to Luksar Jail. The released farmers however, confirmed the protest would continue, with Gaurav Tikait having taken over the mantle from his uncle Naresh Tikait, who was blocked by the police from attending the event.