Farmers' Protest: Cops issue ultimatum in Ghazipur, farmers refuse to budge

New Delhi, Jan 29: Tensions prevailed at the Ghazipur protest site as authorities issued an ultimatum to defiant farmers to leave even as they refused to budge.

Security forces dug trenches, put up barricades, and bolstered numbers at the sites on Delhi's borders on Thursday as cracks started to appear in the 64-day-old protest. The protest lost momentum after the deadly turn of events on January 26 when farmer groups broke through barricades, clashed with police, ran riot on the Capital's streets, and stormed the Red Fort, hoisting the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikhs.

The standoff on Thursday began when Ghaziabad's additional district magistrate (city) Shailendra Kumar Singh asked protesters to end their two-month-long sit-in and vacate the spot at the earliest or face action. The order came hours after protesters said power and water supply to the site were cut off, and hundreds of policemen were sent there.

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait was issued a notice under section 133 of CrPC (conditional order for removal of the nuisance) for eviction from the Ghazipur site and he was also to be arrested later. But Tikait refused to leave the site, saying they may approach the Supreme Court.