The detentions occurred shortly after Pandher and Dallewal met with the Center after Ludhiana traders expressed increasing ire about the blockade.
The Punjab Police launched an operation on Wednesday evening to clear the Shambhu and Khanauri border protest sites, where farmers had been demonstrating since February last year. The move came after the detention of two key leaders spearheading the agitation earlier in the day.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leader Sarvan Singh Pandher and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal were taken into custody while returning to their respective protest sites following negotiations with the Centre. Sources revealed that the discussions remained inconclusive, with Union Minister Piyush Goyal adopting a firm stance on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) demand.
Earlier in the day, amid growing speculation about a potential police crackdown, Punjab authorities assured farmer leaders that no such action was planned. However, by late evening, police detained all protesters at both sites.
Authorities also cut electricity supply on both sides of the highways, forcing police personnel to use torches to carry out the operation. Before the crackdown at Khanauri, Patiala DIG Mandeep Singh Sidhu addressed the farmers, urging them to board the buses voluntarily.
“We are over 3,000 in strength, and you are only a few hundred. We will clear the site, come what may. Your leaders have already been detained in Chandigarh… We don’t want to use force,” he stated.
Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike since November last year, and Pandher were detained immediately upon entering Punjab from Chandigarh, where they had participated in talks with Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture), and Pralhad Joshi (Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution).
According to reports, Dallewal’s ambulance was intercepted by police near Zirakpur, while Pandher was detained in Mohali.
This latest development marks a significant escalation in the ongoing farmer protests, with tensions between the Centre and agitating farmers continuing to rise.
