Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, in Mohali on Wednesday, while evicting protesters from the Shambhu and Khanauri border sites to clear highways blocked for over a year. The action followed an inconclusive meeting in Chandigarh between farmer leaders and a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The farmers, under Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camped at these Punjab-Haryana border points since February 13, 2024, demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Police dismantled stages, tents, and trolleys, deploying around 3,000 personnel, JCB machines, and anti-riot vehicles. Patiala SSP Nanak Singh said the roads would be cleared by Wednesday night, with traffic resumption pending Haryana’s removal of barricades. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema defended the move, citing economic losses to industries due to the highway closures. “We stand with farmers, but their fight is with the Centre, not Punjab,” he said, urging them to shift protests to Delhi.

BJP’s Ravneet Singh Bittu condemned the detentions, alleging AAP was sabotaging Centre-farmer talks. Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi and SAD’s Daljit Singh Cheema, slammed the “undemocratic” crackdown, questioning Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s motives. Pandher was taken to a training center in Patiala, while Dallewal, in an ambulance, was also detained. The next meeting with the Centre is scheduled for May 4, leaving the farmers’ demands unresolved.