Farmer fury spreads in UP – ToI – 9.5.11

4 More Dead 50K Reward On Absconding Ryot Leader Ajit Singh Detained

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Noida/Lucknow: Farmers' frenzy against land acquisition spread on Sunday and singed more places in west Uttar Pradesh with the number of those killed rising to four. While 22 protesters were arrested for rioting and arson, the state government announced a reward for information on the absconding farmer leader Manveer Singh Tevetia who triggered the protests.
    Four policemen were injured in Agra where farmers attacked cops demanding higher compensation for their land acquired for the Yamuna Expressway, the road that could conceivably reduce the driving time between Greater Noida and Agra by 90 minutes. Angry farmers in Agra's Etmadpur tehsil hurled stones at the police and burnt down their vehicles apart from setting fire to the camp office of the business group at Gangauli and Jikarpur in Aligarh building the Expresway.
    The fourth victim of the unrest was a farmer who died in Noida's Kailash Hospital. More than a score are injured in the violence so far. Of the three killed on Saturday, two were cops, which incited the jawans of the Provincial Armed Constabulary into a brutal crackdown on village Bhatta-Parsaul.
    On Sunday, Section 144 of CrPC was clamped here prohibiting even reporters from entering the village. Protests were also reported from villages in Mathura.
    In Agra, protesters fired at the police and torched vehicles following which cops used force to disperse them. "The situation is now under control,'' said Agra deputy inspector general of police Aseem Arun.
    While a large posse of police, PAC and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed in trouble-tossed areas, chief minister Mayawati met with senior officers in Lucknow to devise ways to control the angry farmers.
    Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh was detained with his supporters while on way to Bhatta-Parsaul, and local BJP leaders and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, too, were arrested. Ajit criticised the Mayawati government for its "anti-farmer policy''. BJP leader Arun Jaitley condemned the police action saying, "The Mayawati government is incompetent. Instead of resolving the issue with the farmers, the police are firing at them.''
    Violence began on Sunday when a police went into Bhatta-Parsaul to rescue three employees of state roadways corporation held captive by farmers demanding a meeting with the CM.
    The farmers have been agitating for the past six months demanding more compensation for land acquired by the government for Yamuna Expressway, an associated township as well as other development projects. Farmers allege the government agencies acquired land at throwaway prices and gave it to private players who are making huge profits.
    Director general of police (special), law and order, Brij Lal, who rushed to Bhatta-Parsaul on Sunday, denied these charges saying 99% farmers are satisfied with the compensation.
    In Lucknow, cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar, speaking for the CM, said land for the Expressway was acquired by relevant authorities and development agencies long back. The acquisition was taking place after both sides had signed agreements.
    "Farmers were fully satisfied with rates of the land,'' he said, blaming the Opposition parties and motivated leaders for misguiding gullible farmers and engineering violent protests.