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In Delhi-like protest, Punjab farmers heading to Chandigarh

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Chandigarh, March 5: In a Delhi-like protest by farmers, mainly from Punjab, over their long-pending demands, several farm unions under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are heading to Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday to start their indefinite agitation wherever they were stopped by the security.

As a precaution, the Chandigarh Police have sealed all the entry points to the city by deploying heavy security and issued an advisory to the commuters to avoid these routes.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ughrahan) President Joginder Singh Ughrahan has appealed to the farmers not to block the roads, highways and railway tracks as it would create public inconvenience.

He advised the farmers to stage sit-in protest at roadsides at the place where the security personnel stopped them from moving ahead.

But he appealed to all farmer unions to lodge the protest in a massive way by reaching Chandigarh and joining “Pakka Morcha” in Chandigarh, where the administration has not yet allotted a site for the protest.

Official sources said the farmers would be stopped at the city’s entry point.

The SKM has accused the Punjab government of suppressing right to protest.

Besides the implementation of the agriculture policy, the demands of the SKM include release of land distribution to landless labourers and farmers and debt waiver of farmers and labourers.

Hours after talks between the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and the SKM failed on Monday, raids are being conducted at residences of farmer leaders, including Ugrahan.

Talks to discuss farmers’ demands broke down midway with farmer leaders claiming a “livid” Chief Minister Mann “walked out of the meeting in a huff without a provocation”. After the meeting, the SKM leaders announced to go ahead with their call for massive sit-in protest in Chandigarh.

Ughrahan said the discussions with the Chief Minster were going on smoothly.

“After discussions on eight-nine out of our 18 demands, CM Mann said he had an infection in his eye for which he needed to go,” he told the media.

“The CM then asked us about our plans for the March 5 protest, to which we replied that the discussions were pending and we will take call on our plan to protest after that,” said Ughrahan, adding the CM got upset and left the meeting asking “us to resort to protest”.

Later, Chief Minister Mann said his doors “are always open for talks with the farmers but inconvenience and harassment of the public in the name of agitation should be avoided”.

Interacting with the farmers at a meeting here, the Chief Minister added the “government is always ready to resolve the issues pertaining to various sections of society through negotiations so that trouble to the common man through railway or road blockades must be avoided”.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Mann for “ignoring” farmers, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded the release of farmer leaders.

Warring accused the Chief Minister of arrogance and dismissive behaviour towards the SKM.

He said rather than engaging in constructive discussions to resolve the farmers’ grievances, the government has resorted to conducting raids on the residences of farm leaders.

Expressing shock at the manner in which leaders of the SKM were being treated, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia said: “Mr Bhagwant Mann threatened the kisan leaders with dire consequences when he was reminded of the promises he had made to farmers before assuming charge as Chief Minister in 2022.”

Reminding Chief Minister Mann about the promises made by him to farmers, the Akali leader said: “Mann assured farmers and farm labourers that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would remodel farm policies to ensure no farm suicide occurred in the state.”

The Chief Minister also assured farmers that farm income would be doubled and that his government would implement the M.S. Swaminathan Report whether the Centre did that or not.

Farmers were also assured that every crop would be procured by the state on minimum support price (MSP), he added.

National News

Dawoodi Bohra community met PM Modi, said thank you for the Waqf law

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Delhi News: A delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 17). During this, the Dawoodi Bohra community expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recently passing the Waqf Amendment Act 2025. The community described the Waqf Amendment Act as a long-pending demand. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was also present with the Prime Minister during this meeting.

The delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community, who came to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that this law was being demanded for a long time through the Dawoodi Bohra community, which has now been fulfilled by the government. The delegation said that this has strengthened the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’.

PM Modi gave this assurance
The delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed its full faith in the policy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. He said that the decisions taken by the government promote the inclusion and progress of all sections. The delegation appreciated the positive changes taking place under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and thanked him for his efforts. The Prime Minister also interacted with the representatives of the community and appreciated their contribution and assured that the government is committed to the equal development of all communities.

Who is the Dawoodi Bohra community
The Dawoodi Bohra community belongs to the Muslim sect, which is mainly from West India and whose members are settled in more than 40 countries of the world. The Dawoodi Bohra community connects its heritage to the Fatimi Imams, direct descendants of Prophet Muhammad in Egypt. Dawoodi Bohras around the world are guided by their leader Al-Dai al-Mutlaq (unrestricted preacher), who earlier operated from Yemen and has been operating from India for the last 450 years.

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Crime

Put under house arrest again, says Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

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Srinagar, April 18: Senior religious and Huriyat Conference (HC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said on Friday that authorities have placed him under house arrest, thereby denying him the right to offer congregational prayers during the day.

Mirwaiz Farooq said on X, “Every Friday I am put under arbitrary house arrest ! Putting pressure on me not to speak up, the ban also aims to weaken the centrality of Muslim institutions of the valley-the Jama Masjid, office of the Mirwaiz, and cause collective grief to Muslims and all those who oppose this authoritarian and sectarian outlook. My house detention case is still pending in court, where I am seeking relief from the Hon’ble High Court, but In such times patience remains our only strength.”

Mirwaiz traditionally delivers the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of old Srinagar city. He also heads the Anjuman-e-Nusratul Islam, a religious organisation that runs some educational institutions in Kashmir, including the Islamia High School in Rajouri Kadal area of Srinagar.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last month declared the Mirwaiz-headed Awami Action Committee (ACC) a banned organisation for five years. The ACC was formed in 1963 during the Holy Relic agitation by Mirwaiz Maulana Mohammad Farooq. After the elder Mirwaiz was assassinated in 1990 by the terrorists, the ACC came to be headed by his son, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

The MHA order said that the ACC has been encouraging youth to violence and is acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the state.

Mirwaiz Farooq, who is the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, has witnessed the desertion of several affiliates. As many as 12 Hurriyat-linked organisations have broken off from secessionism, reposing trust in the Constitution of India.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that “separatism has become history in Kashmir”, and the unifying policies of the Modi government have eliminated separatism in J&K. He has also said this is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.

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Crime

Harpreet Singh, responsible for terror attacks in Punjab, arrested by FBI

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Chandigarh, April 18: National Investigation Agency (NIA) charge-sheeted Harpreet Singh, accused of carrying out terror attacks in Punjab, has been arrested by the US security agencies – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations in California’s Sacramento.

The FBI said on Friday that Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, entered the US illegally and used burner phones to evade capture.

Hailing from Passia village in Ajnala, the terrorist has been linked to at least 16 grenade attacks in Punjab, targeting police posts, religious sites, and residences.

On March 23, the NIA chargesheeted four terror operatives of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist organisation in the 2024 Chandigarh grenade attack case.

The chargesheeted accused include Pakistan-based designated individual terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and US-based Happy Passia.

Sandhu and Passia were the primary handlers and conspirators behind the attack. They had provided logistical support, terror funds, weapons, and ammunition to India-based on-ground operatives in Chandigarh for executing the grenade attack, said the NIA.

The September 2024 attack was intended to target a retired officer of the Punjab Police, whom the assailants believed to be the occupant of the house.

NIA investigations revealed that Rinda, along with Passia, had orchestrated the conspiracy to strike terror among law enforcement officials and the public through the grenade attack, as part of the broader aim to promote BKI’s terrorist agenda.

They had recruited local operatives, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, who were tasked with carrying out the attack on their direct instructions.

Rinda and Passia directed the other accused, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, to conduct reconnaissance on the target twice before hurling the grenade, investigations revealed.

In the chargesheet filed before the Special NIA Court in Chandigarh, all four accused have been charged under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act, and other related provisions, for their roles in planning and supporting the attack.

Investigations in the case are continuing, and the NIA is trying to track down other members of the BKI terror group and dismantle its network in India.

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