Policemen reach Rohtak village to detain protester, villagers take them hostage
On Saturday morning, a group of police officers from Shivaji Colony police station arrived in Kabulpur, Haryana, with the intention of apprehending Jai Dev Dagar, a Zila Parishad member, to stop him from attending a protest in Delhi. Dagar, however, managed to contact several villagers who subsequently surrounded his residence, leading to a standoff that lasted until around 1 pm.
When the police team, led by Station House Officer Rakesh Kumar, reached Dagar's home, he explained that they were there to prevent him from traveling to Jantar Mantar in Delhi for the protest organized by the CJP. Upon hearing this, hundreds of villagers gathered outside the residence and demanded that a senior officer from Rohtak arrive to clarify the situation. In response, the police refused to leave until they received a written explanation from the villagers, which detailed the reason for their presence.
The impasse was eventually resolved when the police handed the villagers a handwritten note, signed by members of the team, explaining their visit. This note cited prohibitory orders imposed by the Rohtak district administration and stated that Dagar had plans to attend the Delhi protest. It also mentioned that the police had visited his residence to detain him under relevant provisions of law.
Dagar maintained that attending the demonstration was an expression of his democratic rights and that he was not affiliated with any political party but believed in standing up for justice. Police officer Rakesh Kumar attempted to downplay the confrontation, stating that Dagar had cooperated with the police and that the team had visited Kabulpur because Dagar had announced his attendance at the demonstration, which lacked the required permission. The police claimed it was their responsibility to prevent people from gathering at the venue.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.