Five farmers killed in firing at Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI: About five farmers were killed in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh state, 325 km from Bhopal city after firing at a protest, marking an escalation of violence as a rural strike demanding debt relief spread. According to home Minister Bhupendra Singh, the police did not shoot at the crowd in the central city. He also said that cops have not fired at the crowd in Mandsaur, bullets were shot by "anti-social elements, investigation has been continued. But he was contradicted by a senior official, Ujjain Division Commissioner OM Jha said, "Around 2 pm, in order to control the agitated farmers, the police had to open fire in which two farmers died and several others were injured." "The police started firing to disperse the crowd. Farmers were not carrying weapons," said Gajendra Tokas of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, a national farmers ' union, which has called a state-wide tomorrow. The farmers allegedly threw stones at the police before the firing. Last night, they reportedly tried to vandalise train tracks in the area. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed the opposition for inciting the violence and said his administration stands with farmers. "Unfortunately, anti-social elements have crept into the agitation," he claimed. Internet services have been suspended in areas like Indore, Ujjain and Dewas, all in the western part of the state which has witnessed anger by farmers who say the government is not providing enough relief from rural distress. Farmers have been holding large protests, demanding higher prices for their produce including onions and dal. They also want loans to be waived, like in the states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which are also governed by the BJP. Chief Minister Chouhan met with representatives of farmer unions recently to pledge support including the creation of a price stabilisation fund of Rs. 1,000 crore to purchase produce at a minimum price agreed upon with farmers. The western part of Madhya Pradesh adjoins Maharashtra, where farmers have been holding similar demonstrations. They want Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ' government to take steps to boost farm incomes and output including waiving all agricultural loans, similar to the $5.6 billion in debt forgiveness announced in April by Yogi Adityanath after he took over as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Prices of vegetables and milk have jumped more than 50 percent in major cities such as Mumbai and the information and technology hub of Pune after farmers cut supplies from Thursday. Maharashtra, India ' s second most populous state, is the country ' s second-biggest producer of sugar, cotton and soybean. Chief Minister Fadnavis has said the government will waive the debt of marginal farmers who defaulted in the last few years, adding a panel would be set up to find ways to implement the "biggest loan waiver in Maharashtra ' s history" though he did not elaborate on the amount.