Noida/Ghaziabad: Farmers agitating against the three laws blocked the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) for about two hours on Friday evening to protest the alleged attack on the cavalcade of BKU-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait in Alwar. In the night, farmers in Gautam Budh Nagar protested at the Chilla border for over an hour, demanding the arrest of those responsible for the attack.
Tikait was allegedly attacked in the Tatarpur area of Alwar around 4pm while on his way to attend a panchayat in Bansur village. Though Tikait was not harmed in the attack but stone pelting damaged the car in which he was travelling. “It was a premeditated attack. The mastermind behind the attack is Kuldeep Yadav, a member of ABVP,” said Dharmendra Malik, BKU spokesperson.
Meanwhile, as the news of attack reached UP Gate, the protesting farmers blocked the Delhi to Ghaziabad stretch of DME around 5pm. They dispersed after around 7pm following talks with the district administration.
Sanjay Mishra, a Ghaziabad resident who was returning home from Udaipur with his family, said, “I was under the impression that the Delhi to Ghaziabad section of DME had been opened, so I took that route but was caught up in the jam for close to two hours.”
At the Chilla border also, farmers protested for nearly an hour around 8pm.
“We will block all routes to Delhi if action is not taken against the attackers. We also demand Z+ security for Tikait. If anything happens to Rakesh Tikait, the situation will worsen for which the government will be responsible,” he said.
Additional commissioner of police (Noida) Ranvijay Singh said they had assured the protesters that their concerns would be raised at the appropriate level.