JOIN USJats block roads to Delhi as govt refuses to meet demands
Jat protesters in Hisar on Friday blocked road and rail links to Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan after the state government rejected their demand for unconditional release of Jat leaders who were arrested on Monday.
They have been demanding an Other Backward Classes quota in government jobs for the last three weeks.
After the deadline for releasing the leaders lapsed on Friday afternoon, tension prevailed in the district with protesters refusing to cremate the body of Sandeep, who was killed in a clash with police on March 6.
Hisar Deputy Commissioner Amit Aggarwal said there was no reponse from the government to release the Jat leaders. He also warned of action against those who damage public property.
The agitators blocked Hisar-Delhi National Highway near Mayyar village. Train services on Hisar-Delhi and Hisar-Ludhiana routes were disrupted.
“Sandeep’s last rites will be performed only when our leaders are released. There will be no dialogue with the government till our demands are met. We have decided to intensify the agitation and shall block all roads and railway lines,” said Suresh Koth, a Jat leader.
Police have filed a murder case against Rapid Action Force personnel on a complaint by Sandeep’s uncle Karamvir Singh.
Course of agitation
Khap leaders also met at Jind to decide the course of action of their agitation. Nafe Singh Nain, president of Binain Khap, appealed to agitators to maintain peace and to the administration not to commit excesses while dealing with protesters.
The appeal came as authorities arrested five more persons under the Indian Railway Act, Arms Act and IPC.
They were produced in court on Friday, which sent them to judicial custody.With this, the total number of arrests has reached 74.
Several people in Kanhakhera village in Jind also blocked traffic on Jind-Tohana link road. Haryana Director General of Police Ranjiv Dalal, who is camping in Hisar for the last three days, asked protesters and Sandeep’s family to perform his last rites.
He said “some outsiders” were misguiding locals.
The district administration has closed all schools in Hisar till March 10 as a precautionary measure. But board exams at different centres in Hisar will be conducted as scheduled.