Chandigarh: One person was killed and around 65 others, including 40 policemen, were injured as farmers, protesting unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board, went on a rampage on Tuesday, damaging vehicles and stoning police.
The farmers, under the auspices of Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan group), fought pitched battles with police in the city protesting Badal government's decision to split PSEB into separate power generation, transmission and distribution companies.
At a traffic rotary near a cricket stadium, agitating farmers damaged some 24 government and private vehicles and stoned police who swung batons and burst tear gas shells to scatter them.
Some vehicles were also set afire, police said adding the protesters vandalised sign boards when they were chased away.
A farmer was killed and nearly 65 others, including 40 policemen and two journalists, were injured in the violence, SP Madhur Verma said.
IGP S K Jain said the dead, identified as Jagseer Singh, hailed from Bathinda.
Jain said he was run over by a vehicle of the protesting farmers after he fell from it.
Farmers, however, alleged he was killed in police action.
SSP Chandigarh S S Srivastava said the situation in the city, where the normal life was affected, was tense but under control.
He said police used force as protesters tried to break the barricades and stage a demonstration in violation of the prohibitory orders.
The IGP said 40 people had been arrested in connection with the violence, adding 16 buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking were damaged by the protesters.
BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said their protest was against the state government's move to unbundle the PSEB.
He said farmers would disrupt train services in Punjab for five hours on September 15 as part of their agitation.
PSEB employees along with their family members also staged protests in the city chanting slogans against the Badal government.
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