Farmers' Protest: Man who attacked cop with sword on R-Day, 43 others arrested

New Delhi, Jan 30: Delhi Police have arrested 44 people, including man who attacked a police officer on Friday with a sword during clashes at Singhu border.

At Ghazipur, one of the other protest sites, thousands of demonstrators dug in on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, defying the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to vacate the area.

With the crowd swelling after a standoff and a tearful outburst by one of the senior leaders of the movement on Thursday, security forces in large numbers were called in again.

All India Kisan Sabha is set to observe a day's fast beginning at 10:30 am at Delhi's ITO, even as Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh appealed to the protesting farmers to attend the meeting with the Centre and resolve the issue as soon as possible.

He added that "the agitation has lost its steam" due to the violence in Delhi on January 26. Singh further warned that a "disturbed Punjab suits Pakistan's policies and asked central government to be on toes.

A day earlier, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) supporters stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to vacate the UP Gate protest site where security force in large numbers was re-deployed.