CHANDIGARH: A 21-year-old farmer was killed and a few others injured following a clash between security personnel and protesting farmers at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border. Farmer leaders said this was the first death in clashes since the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march began on February 13.The fatal confrontation came after Haryana Police fired tear gas shells to disperse farmers from Punjab at Shambhu and Khanauri border points as they tried to move towards barricades, stalling their protest march to Delhi.Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who is among the three Union ministers engaging with the farmers’ leaders, has appealed to the protesters to maintain peace and resolve issues through discussions. He has invited the leaders for a fifth round of talks on all issues.The victim has been identified as Subhkaran Singh (21), a resident of Baloke village in Punjab’s Bathinda district, farmer leader Baldev Singh Sirsa said.Patiala-based Rajindra Hospital’s medical superintendent, HS Rekhi, told reporters that three people, one of them dead, were brought to the hospital from the Khanauri border point. He (Singh) had an injury to his head, Rekhi said, adding that the condition of the other two is stable.Farmers in Khanauri, one of the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border, claimed that Haryana police personnel fired rubber bullets, besides tear gas shells to disperse protesters.Thousands of farmers resumed their agitation two days after the fourth round of talks with the government over their demands, including a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and a farm debt waiver, failed.
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