Navdeep Singh, the youth from Ambala who climbed atop police van to close the water cannon amid the ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers’ protests, has been charged with attempt to murder, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, rioting and violation of COVID-19 rules.
Son of farmer’s body leader Jai Singh, 26-year-old Navdeep was hailed as a ‘hero’, after his video turning off the water cannon that was being blasted at farmers on Wednesday, November 25, surfaced on social media.
How a young farmer from Ambala Navdeep Singh braved police lathis to climb and turn off the water cannon tap and jump back on to a tractor trolley #farmersprotest pic.twitter.com/Kzr1WJggQI
— Ranjan Mistry (@mistryofficial) November 27, 2020
The Ambala Police has filed the case against him at Haryana’s Parao police station.
Speaking to Times of India, Navdeep said the farmers were protesting peacefully and demanded a passage to Delhi, but the police blocked our path.
‘We have all the right to question the government and protest if any anti-people laws are passed,’ the media quoted him as saying. Navdeep said he climbed at the Police van to turn off the tap as it was hurting the farmers.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Harayana and Uttar Pradesh marched towards the National Capital Delhi, protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws. After moving ahead of barricades in Ambala, hundreds of farmers faced water cannons at NH (44) in Ambala’s Mohra village.
