Madhya Pradesh: Police Opened Fire On Protesting Farmers, Five Killed And Five Injured

As farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh intensified, five farmers were killed and five others were injured in a firing by security forces in Mandsaur district on Tuesday.

The injured farmers were rushed to a hospital in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

As reported by The Indian Express, state home minister Bhupendra Singh, however, denied that the police resorted to firing. He said neither the local police nor the CRPF opened fire at protesters. A curfew has been imposed in the district.

Singh added that the protests included some anti-social elements who incited violence and the police would take stern action against them.

The agitation by the farmers in MP was started on Thursday, following the steps of their counterparts in Maharashtra.

Incidentally, the killing of the four farmers came hours after Mandsaur collector Swatantra Kumar Singh claimed that the situation in the district was under control.

It’s been five days that MP farmers are demanding fair price and loan waiver. They are also pushing the government to set the price of milk at Rs 50 per litre.

As a sign of protest, the farmers have been throwing milk, fruits and vegetables on the streets to hamper the agricultural supply in the state. Due to this, wholesale markets in several parts of MP have been affected and the prices have risen.

On Friday morning, a protest by farmers in Sardarpur town of Dhar district turned violent as six motorcycles were set on fire and two shops were damaged after an argument broke out between the agitating farmers and shopkeepers over keeping the shops shut

On Sunday, however, RSS affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh had announced that the protests have been called off after a meeting with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Following this, the CM had assured the farmers on Monday that the government would buy onions at Rs 8 per kg and moong dal at an agreed price. He also said that a Rs 1,000 crore stabilisation fund would be set up.

However, the agitation continued as the Bharatiya Kisan Union leading the strike refused to give in and continued the protests on Tuesday.

The agitation in Madhya Pradesh has turned violent and has affected the state’s economy. Even as India is a country where people die of hunger, the protests have wasted immense amounts food. Similar to the Maharashtra farmer protests, it has also turned into a political blame game.

The Logical Indian strongly condemns the killing of the four farmers. Questioning the government is a sign of a healthy democracy, however, no protest should scale to a level where people die. We hope that the state government of MP reaches a consensus with the farmers and the protests which have taken four lives and has also adversely affected the state’s economy, comes to a halt.