The 21-year-old boy caught by farmers at Singhu border, one of the major protest sites, on Friday took a U-turn and said he was first beaten and then forced to read a script by the protesters. However, after nabbing him, the farmers had alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to kill four of them and create disturbance during their proposed tractor parade in Delhi on January 26.
Haryana Police said the boy, Yogesh, who is native of Uttrakhand but living in Haryana’s Sonipat for the last 20 years, used to work in a private factory before lockdown. Police said that Yogesh’s parents claimed that he had gone missing since December 20.
Addressing the Press conference, Jashandeep Singh Randhawa, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Sonipat said that after the police team questioned Yogesh it was revealed that he had arguments with farmer volunteers over allegations of eve-teasing.
“He was taken to a camp where he was beaten up. He has said he made statements under fear and claimed that he was kept there in the camp for two days,” said the SP.
“During enquiry, the police team also found that on December 20 he had left his home after lying to his parents that he was going for work. A medical examination of Yogesh was conducted at the hospital and there are injury marks on his body,” said the SP.
“On Friday, Yogesh alleged that he was tasked by one inspector Pradeep, Station House Officer (SHO) of Rai Police Station. Police team’s preliminary investigation shows that there is no inspector named Pradeep in the district or at Rai Police Station. He was also not present at Haryana Chief Minister’s rally in Karnal on January 10 as alleged by the farmers,” said the SP.
“Police has written a letter to Deputy Commissioner, Sonipat to conduct a fair enquiry through Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) level officer,” said the SP.
At the Singhu border Press conference late on Friday night, the farmer leaders presented the man who claimed that his accomplices were asked to pose as policemen and baton-charge the crowd during the proposed tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day.
The farmer leaders claimed that they caught the man from the protest site at the Singhu border. He was subsequently handed over to the Haryana police. Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu alleged that attempts are being made to disrupt the ongoing agitation against three farm laws.
The man, who had his face covered with a scarf, claimed at the press conference that a plan was hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are known faces in the media, at the stage on Saturday.
“On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor parade by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner,” he said.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several border points of Delhi since November 28 last year.