Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab) [India], March 28 : Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has been released from the Mukhtsar Sahib prison and will hold a press conference at the Bahadurgarh fort today at 9 am, he said in a self-made video.
Pandher strongly condemned the AAP-led Punjab government for "destroying" farmers' front.
"I have been released from Mukhtsar Sahib prison, and I will reach Bahadurgarh Fort around 9 am and will hold a press conference there... I strongly condemn the Punjab government and the way our fronts were destroyed... We will hold discussions on our future course of action with our partners," Pandher said in the self-made video.
Several farmer leaders, including farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite fast and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarvan Singh Pandher, were detained by the Punjab Police on March 19.
Earlier on March 24, the Punjab government released 450 more farmers from police detention.
"Adopting a considerate approach towards farmers, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has decided to immediately release 450 more farmers from police detention," the Information and Public Relations Department, Punjab said in a press release.
Sharing details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill informed that the Punjab government has already released approximately 800 farmers from police custody.
Earlier, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal and Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Raminder Singh refused to attend a meeting called by the Punjab government and announced a protest at district headquarters across the state on March 28, alleging repression by the state government.
The decision came after key farmer leaders accused the Punjab administration of using excessive force against protesting farmers and unlawfully detaining several leaders. They also cited unfavourable conditions for not participating in the meeting.
Notably, two days after Punjab police cleared the Sambhu and Khanauri border and removed the temporary structures erected by the protesting farmers on March 19, the state's Agriculture Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, called for a meeting of farmer leaders on March 21 in Chandigarh.