Farmer leaders PT John (Kerala) and PR Pandian (Tamil Nadu) with Punjab police.
Punjab: Days after the Punjab Police arrested over 500 protesting farmers as part of a large-scale crackdown at the Punjab-Haryana border, Kerala’s farm leader PT John and Tamil Nadu’s PR Pandian have been released from jail.
Speaking to Timeline, PT John said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin asked Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann to release Pandian along with him from the Punjab jail. Pandian is the president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu.
Also Read | PT John Among Over 500 Farmer Activists Arrested In Punjab
The order to release the two farmer leaders was issued on Sunday night (March 23), PT John told Timeline.
Several prominent leaders including Sarwan Singh Pandher, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Kaka Singh Kotra and others were detained at Patiala Central Jail on March 19.
IG Sukhchain Singh Gill stated that 800 farmers have already been released, and the Punjab government has decided to release women over 60 years of age and those with medical conditions as well. Around 450 more farmers are expected to be released today. Taking a strict stance on… pic.twitter.com/DipHw8I979
— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) March 24, 2025
The Punjab police revealed that it has released over 800 farmers with the state government releasing women over 60 years of age and those with medical conditions. Nearly 450 farmers are also expected to be released today, said IG Sukhchain Singh Gill.
Sources have also confirmed that the future of the protests will be decided after all the farmers’ leaders who have been arrested are released. They also reiterated that the demand and protests for MSP will continue.
Meanwhile, the national coordination committee of farmers body Samyukta Kisan Morcha, or SKM, has called upon farmers across India to hold demonstrations across the country on March 28 against the police crackdown in Punjab.
The arrests followed a meeting between farmer leaders and central government officials in Chandigarh on Wednesday, which turned out to be inconclusive. In a heavy crackdown launched by the AAP government in the state on March 19, more than 500 farmers were arrested from their protesting sites in the Shambhu and Khanuri regions.
The national highways in the two places have been blocked since last year when the protests kicked off on February 13, 2024. State officials stated that the roads would reopen soon.
Also Read | Arrested Farmer Leaders Refuse To File Bail Application; Challenge Government
Calling the move an act of betrayal by the Bhagwant Mann-led government, farmers leaders, activists, and opposition parties condemned the large-scale arrests, which further triggered detained farmers going on hunger strikes across police stations in Sangrur, Patiala, and Mohali.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s AAP government defended its actions, citing economic repercussions due to prolonged highway blockades.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that discussions would continue, but farmer leaders remain adamant about securing a legal MSP guarantee.
The next round of talks between the central government and farmer unions is scheduled for May 4.
