Tractor Rally Violence: 'Aggressive & Militant Elements Pushed Ahead,' Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava

There was an agreement signed but certain sections of farmers did not follow the plan that was decided,

Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava. (File Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Delhi Police has stated that aggressive and militant elements were pushed ahead and provocative speeches were given that led to the tractor rally chaos on Republic Day.
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava held a press conference on Wednesday revealing details of what went on during the tractor rally taking an untoward turn on Republic Day.

He spoke about certain causes being already discussed such as the tractor march beginning before the assigned time and the pre-decided route not having been followed.

There was an agreement given in writing but certain sections of farmers did not follow the plan that was decided. Police chose to exercise patience even though they had other options so as to avert any loss of life, he said.

The Commissioner added that the police wanted to have the rally conducted in a planned manner but violence erupted and it was caused by the deviation from the agreed-upon plan. 

He talked about aggressive and militant elements being pushed ahead and provocative speeches used before showing some videos of the protest. He accused Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee's president Satnam Pannu of giving such a provocative speech.

"By late evening of January 25, it came to fore that they (farmers) were not keeping their words. They brought forward the aggressive & militant elements who occupied the stage & delivered provocative speeches which made their intentions clear."

It has been informed that about 394 police officers sustained injuries, some of them are admitted to ICU wards. There was a lot of damage to the police property as well.

The videos of the violence are being examined and a facial recognition system is being used to identify miscreants, Commissioner SN Shrivastava informed.

"We wanted to follow the agreement because that was for the benefit of all. Not a single person died because of police action," he replied when asked about the police's preparedness.

He also talked about the role of farmer leaders blaming them for the "betrayal of trust" and said that appropriate action will be taken against them.

19 people have been jailed and about 50 individuals have been detained in the ongoing probe into the violent clashes that happened on Republic Day.