Chaos in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh as farmers, police clash; vehicles set on fire
In Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, the police resorted to cane‑charge and fired tear‑gas shells on Wednesday after farmers gathered to oppose the construction of an ethanol plant in Tibbi town. The clash erupted when protestors used tractors to break down the boundary wall at the under‑construction site, sparking stone‑throwing, arson and a heavy police response.
During the skirmish, several vehicles—including at least ten—were vandalised and set ablaze. Both civilians and law‑enforcement officers sustained injuries. Congress MLA Abhimanyu Poonia, who had arrived to support the farmers, was struck by the lathi‑charge and later treated at Hanumangarh District Hospital.
To restore calm, authorities cut off internet services in Tibbi and nearby villages, and schools and shops were closed. The disturbance originated earlier when farmers assembled outside the SDM office demanding an immediate halt to the plant’s construction. Talks with officials broke down because the government would not issue a written commitment to stop the work, prompting the protestors to march to Rathi Kheda around 4 p.m. and engage the factory site.
Dune Ethanol Private Limited, a Chandigarh‑registered firm founded in 2020, is building a 40‑MW grain‑based ethanol plant in the area as part of India’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme. The company’s directors, Jatinder Arora and Robin Jindal, are steering the project.
From the gathering at Gurudwara Sahib, protest leaders, including Shabnam Godara, Nitin Dhaka, Sukhjit Chattha, Jagjit Jaggi, and Indrajit, met with DSP Meenakshi to demand a written stop‑construction order. The administration declined, leaving the protestors to continue campaigning at the factory gate for an assurance that the construction would cease.
Earlier that day, farmer leaders had called upon the District Collector by 2 p.m. with the same request; when the request was denied, they marched towards the plant. The “Ethanol Factory Hatao Sangharsh Samiti” used tractors to tear down the wall, and when police attempted to disperse them, stones were hurled, injuring about a dozen officers who were taken to Tibbi Community Health Centre. The conflict led to fire‑sabotage of several police vehicles as well.
High‑profile opposition figures—including MP Kuldeep Indora, MLA Abhimanyu Poonia, former MLA Balwan Poonia, CPI(M)’s Mangej Chaudhary, and farmer leaders from Haryana and Punjab—joined the protests. Congress leaders such as former CM Ashok Gehlot, Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, and LoP Tika Ram Jully criticised the police lathi‑charge, questioning why the BJP government harbours so much hostility towards farmers.
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