Naib tehsildar Arjinder Singh and his subordinate staff were held hostage at their office in Lambi sub-tehsil by members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) and the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union since 3 pm on Monday.
The protesters were seeking payment of the long-pending compensation for the damage to their cotton crops caused by pink bollworms. Police lathi-charged the farmers at 12 o'clock late in the night and rescued the Naib Tehsildar and the staff.
Six farmers were injured in the police lathi charge, and have been admitted to Lambi Hospital. After the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government, for the first time in the state, there has been a lathi charge on the protesting farmers in the state. After the coming out of Naib Tehsildar Arjinder Singh and the staff, now the Tehsildars of the entire state have gone on strike.
Gurpash Singh Singhewal, BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) Muktsar president, accused the revenue authorities of overlooking their compensation claims for the damage to the cotton crop due to the recent pink bollworm infestation. He said the officials were not even heeding their pleas for a cotton crop loss assessment.
The police rescued the hostage Naib Tehsildar and the farmers, but the farmers' strike is still going on. BKU has now staged a dharna outside the Tehsil office. They have stuck to their point and are demanding compensation.
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The names of injured farmers are Harpal Singh Killianwali, Nishan Singh Khudianwali, Jagdeep Singh Khudian, Davinder Singh Manawala, MP Singh Bhullarwala, Gurlabh Singh Kakkhanwali, Kala Singh Khunnan Khurd.