In the first arrest linked to that violence, police arrested a little-known actor from the northern state of Punjab, Deep Sidhu, and several others suspected of joining him at the Red Fort. Sidhu is a Sikh and many farmers from Sikh-dominated Punjab have been at the vanguard of the protest. Disassociating themselves from the violence, leaders of farmers’ unions, said Sidhu had not been a part of the protest and had infiltrating their tractor procession on Jan 26. Farmer union leaders have accused Sidhu of being sympathetic to fringe groups demanding an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, carved out of India. Reporting by Mayank BhardwajImage: FILE PHOTO: Farmers gather in front of the historic Red Fort during a protest against farm laws introduced by the government, in Delhi, India, January 26, 2021.

Source: Egypt Independent February 09, 2021 09:11 UTC