New Delhi: The Delhi government has approved the withdrawal of 17 cases registered during the anti-farm law stir, including one involving last year's Republic Day violence, a senior official said on Tuesday. He said the file related to the cases was sent by Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office to Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain on January 31. It was approved by Jain and sent to the chief minister's office on February 25. The CMO sent the file to the L-G office on February 28 and it was approved the same day, the officer said.
An official statement from the Delhi government stated the matter has been "escalated" and the "requisite files" have been sent to the L-G. The Delhi Police had identified 17 out of the 54 cases registered from November 2020 to December 2021 for withdrawal. One of the cases is related to 200-300 protesters and 25 tractors reaching the Red Fort and entering its premises through the Lahori Gate, resulting in damage to ticket counters, doorframe metal detectors and baggage scanners.
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Another case was registered at the Jyoti Nagar police station in northeast Delhi against protesting farmers entering Delhi from UP's Loni border riding 150-175 tractors and allegedly obstructing policemen from discharging their duty and assaulting them. Most of the cases were registered for violation of COVID-19 protocols and guidelines during their over one-year-long anti-farm law agitation at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders of Delhi. The protesters, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, laid siege at Delhi borders in November 2020 demanding that the Centre withdraw the three farm laws. The protest ended in December 2021 after the Narendra Modi government withdrew the farm laws.
The Centre had also agreed to the demand of the agitating farmers, protesting under the umbrella organisation Samyukta Kisan Morcha for the withdrawal of cases registered against them between November 2020 to December 2021. In a letter, the Centre on December 9, 2021, had stated that it was agreed to immediately withdraw cases registered against the protesters and their supporters during the farmers' stir.
PTI
