PUCL condemns crackdown on protesting farmers at Shambhu border, calls for justice

New Delhi: People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) strongly condemned the egregious actions by the Punjab Police against the peaceful farmers protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri borders on March 19.

The crackdown, marked by police high-handedness, arrests, and the destruction of protest sites, represents a shameful assault on democratic rights and a betrayal of the agrarian community that has tirelessly fought for justice always using peaceful, non-violent democratic means said the statement.

Call for Justice

PUCL president Kavita Srivastava in a statement said that the police brutality and the connivance in looting by anti-social elements demand not only our outrage but a call for accountability and justice.

The Kisan Andolan at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, ongoing since February 13, 2024, has been a beacon of resistance, with farmers unwaveringly demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP), loan waivers, and other critical reforms in the face of a hostile state.

The agitation was led by senior figures such as Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pandher, Kaka Singh Kotda, Abhimanyu Kohar, Manjit Singh Rai, and Sukhjeet Singh Hardozhande. The movement gained further momentum with Dallewal’s indefinite hunger strike, initiated on November 26, 2023, and persisting for over 40 days by early 2025. This protest, rooted in the legacy of earlier farmer agitations, symbolized a collective struggle against systemic neglect. Yet, on March 19, 2025, this peaceful resistance was met with an iron fist, orchestrated in a manner that can only be described as a democratic travesty.

3000 police personnel unleashed

The AAP government unleashed over 3,000 police personnel, armed with bulldozers and JCBs, to dismantle the protest sites at Shambhu and Khanauri. The operation, led by Deputy Inspector General Mandeep Singh Sidhu at Khanauri, saw farmers given a mere ten-minute ultimatum to vacate before being forcibly detained. Over 450 farmers, including leaders like Dallewal and Pandher, were arrested and transported in buses.

The inclusion of 13 women leaders, notably Sukhwinder Kaur, among the detainees underscores the indiscriminate nature of this crackdown.

Protest stages, temporary shelters, and personal belongings were razed, leaving behind a scene of devastation after 13 months of steadfast demonstration.

Shameless move by AAP

This “anti-democratic and shameless move” by the AAP government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has shattered the trust of farmers who believed in dialogue. Hours after engaging with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, farm leaders were apprehended, and their protest sites demolished—a stark betrayal masked as economic necessity by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who cited losses to industries.

Such justifications ring hollow when weighed against the human cost: the detention of elderly leaders like Dallewal, the silencing of women like Sukhwinder Kaur, and the stripping of dignity from a movement that sought only a fair redressal of their legitimate grievances.

Denounced the repression by AAP

PUCL in a statement unequivocally denounced the brutal repression and the AAP government’s complicity in undermining democratic principles. The farmers’ response—hunger strikes by the detained and planned dharnas—reflects their unbroken spirit.

PUCL is amplifying their call, said the statement by urging an immediate investigation into police excesses, the release of detained leaders, and restoration of dialogue to address the legitimate demand of farmers.

The tragic events of March 19, 2025, will not be forgotten; they stand as a testament to the resilience of the Kisan Andolan and the moral failure of those who chose force over justice said the statement.

The following are the demands that PUCL fully endorses:

• Restore the dignity and civil liberties of all those arrested.

• File criminal cases against the police and administration and those who committed excesses against the farmers.

• Restore the Dharna site to the farmers as protest is a constitutional right

• Urge the Government to engage in a dialogue with Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pander, and other farmer leaders.

• The Supreme Court report on the farm laws to be made public.

• Ensure that there is a Legal Guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops.

• Withdrawal the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, drop proposed electricity reforms, and stop the ongoing installation of smart meters for agricultural connections.

• Demand a Comprehensive Debt Waiver, seeking the complete cancellation of outstanding loans.

• Withdrawal of politically motivated police cases linked to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence which aimed to suppress legitimate dissent.

• Justice for the victims of the incident, including an impartial investigation and a fair trial for those accused.

• Reinstate the Land Acquisition Act, of 2013, and provide compensation to the families of farmers who lost their lives during the 2020-21 agitation.