Four farmers were killed in Pune’s Mawal taluka in police firing on Tuesday close to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. This ironically comes a day after Maharashtra’s home minister R.R. Patil defended the police in the Assembly, saying it never resorts to firing unless there was no other option. Police
sources said firing was unavoidable after the farmers refused to end their protest and move off the highway.
“The farmers had converged onto the highway to protest the laying of a new water pipeline through Mawal. They staged a rasta roko and ended up blocking the highway for over three hours. We asked them to move, but they refused till all leaders had given their speeches. We then waited till the speeches were over and again tried to move them, but they refused again, which is when the clash erupted,” said Pune rural SP Sandip Karnik.
Within minutes, the clash escalated and farmers started throwing stones at the police and at vehicles stranded on the highway. The 70 policemen there were outnumbered by the 500-odd protesters, who turned violent. The police began a lathicharge, firing teargas shells and rubber bullets, but even this could not quell the mob.
“The farmers overturned a police vehicle and proceeded to burn it just as the five policemen inside managed to scramble out. They were surrounded and attacked by the farmers, after which I fired one round from my bodyguard’s service revol-ver into the air,” said Mr Karnik, Pune rural SP.
Peace slowly returned to the area after the mob was dispelled and several of the farmers were taken into custody.