After police action against Sikh protesters in Ambala and the use of force against protesters in Hansi demanding justice for the murder of a local youth, Haryana Police is bracing for another potential confrontation as farmers from the state and Punjab prepare to march towards Delhi against the proposed India-US trade deal.
Farmers alleged that he was killed by police firing, while the circumstances surrounding his death became the subject of a dispute. Two years later, the border is once again emerging as a potential flashpoint as farmers seek to cross from Punjab into Haryana on their way to Delhi. The latest mobilisation comes after two high-profile episodes of police action in Haryana. In Ambala, Sikh protesters had taken to the streets, with police using force to control the demonstration. The incident has resonated in Punjab, particularly amid heightened sensitivities around Sikh and panthic issues. In Hansi, protesters demanding justice in the murder of a local youth faced police action, with the use of force triggering questions over the manner in which the Haryana Police handled the demonstration. Jind Police, however, has clarified that there is no blanket closure of roads across the district.
Shubhkaran Singh was a 21-year-old farmer from Balloh village in the Bathinda district who had joined the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march in 2024. He died after sustaining a head injury during clashes between protesting farmers and security forces at the Khanauri border on February 21, 2024. His death became one of the defining moments of the 2024 farmers’ agitation and turned Khanauri into an emotive symbol of the farmers’ movement.
Jind Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh said only vehicles travelling to and from Punjab at the Khanauri border have been diverted to alternative routes.
