Large groups of tractors and protesters broke away from the approved protest routes tipping over buses and violently clashing with overwhelmed police officers armed with bamboo batons as they marched toward central Delhi.
By early afternoon, Delhi police commanders had deployed officers carrying assault rifles. Television footage showed them in the middle of key roads, staring down the protesters, rifles aimed at the crowds. In some areas, police officers beat protesters with their batons to push them back.
Some of the most violent clashes occurred at a junction near Indias income-tax office and an old headquarters of the police force as protesters tried to break a final barrier and force their way toward the city center. Angry farmers retreated and drove their tractors on a side road that led away from the city, only after the police fired several volleys of tear gas.
Local television channels showed farmers placing the body of a protester in the middle of a road nearby. They said the man had been shot, but that could not be independently verified. New York Times reporters in the area saw wounded people being carried away who said they had been hurt when a tractor tipped over. CCTV footage aired on local television showed one tractor flipping after crashing into a police barricade at high speed.
The Indian government temporarily suspended internet services in border areas that for months have been hubs of protest, an official at Indias home ministry confirmed.
The demonstration, after the central government failed in its frantic efforts to prevent the tractor march, illustrated how deeply the deadlock with the farmers has embarrassed Mr. Modi. Although he has emerged as Indias most dominant figure after crushing his political opposition, the farmers have been persistent.read more
Protests in India Turn Violent as Angry Farmers Clash With Police
