Mandsaur death toll rises to six: 10 points

Many farmers in Madhya Pradesh want Chouhan to write off outstanding loans, pointing to unseasonal rainfall and drought in the past three years. Photo: PTI

MANDSAUR: Farmer protests spilled over to new areas of Madhya Pradesh even as the epicentre of the agitation, Mandsaur, remained relatively peaceful. While curfew continued in Mandsaur, except for a two-hour relaxation, incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts. Latest Updates on MP Farmers' Stir

1. A farmer died in Mandsaur today after succumbing to injuries from a police lathicharge. Total six farmers have already died in police firing.
2. Curfew was today relaxed for the day in Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi as the situation in the areas hit by violent protests by farmers improved.
3. SP Manoj Kumar Singh said authorities decided to relax curfew from 10 am to 6 pm as the situation has improved.
4. No protest, rally or demonstration will be allowed during the curfew relaxation period.
5. Incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in western part of the state as the agitation for loan waiver and better crop price continued.
6. The agitation has also spread to Chhindwara district in Mahakoshal region of the state. At least 56 people have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers agitation.
7. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sought a comprehensive inquiry into the killing of five farmers here in police firing and sought "martyr" status for them. The authorities had prevented Rahul Gandhi and a number of other Congress leaders from entering Mandsaur.
8. Amid the increasing political slugfest, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, which is facing a major crisis, shunted out the collector and superintendent of police of Mandsaur district, two days after five farmers were killed in police firing during a violent protest.
9. A police inspector, who had allegedly fired at the protestors on Tuesday, was also removed from field duty and sent to police lines.
10. The state's Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said that the five farmers had been killed in police firing, a remark that assumes significance as the authorities had earlier claimed the police did not fire during the protests. In a report submitted to the home ministry, the state government had said the protesting farmers, demanding loan waiver, had allegedly set ablaze 25 trucks and two police vans along the Mhow-Neemuch highway on Tuesday.

Farmers in several states, such as Maharashtra, where a farmer committed suicide on Tuesday, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, have been seeking loan waivers after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh wrote off dues. Many farmers in Madhya Pradesh want Chouhan to write off outstanding loans, pointing to unseasonal rainfall and drought in the past three years. In March, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya had cautioned that "credit discipline breaks when you waive off farm loans. Money will come in today because government will pay but when we will give loan in future, farmers will wait for next elections".