Hisar: A mahapanchayat of khap panchayats and farmers’ unions on Wednesday announced a four-hour blockade of toll plazas across Haryana on Aug 14 and a protest at chief minister Nayab Singh Saini’s programme in Hansi on Independence Day over the killing of dairy operator Jeevan Kundu.The mahapanchayat at Hisar mini-secretariat gave police until Aug 13 to arrest all accused in the case, warning of an intensified agitation if the deadline was not met.Jeevan, a dairy operator from Surya Nagar, was allegedly attacked with sticks by 12-15 men on Aug 4 and died during treatment. Police have arrested four accused and formed 10 special teams to trace those absconding.Former MLA Balraj Kundu alleged that the main accused had police links, while Uklana MLA Naresh Selwal accused the BJP of giving the case a caste angle.Police have provided security to Jeevan’s family, while the administration has initiated the process of providing employment to them.Police have announced a Rs 50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of main accused Ramesh, son of Chaman Lal Sharma, and issued lookout circulars against the wanted accused. Posters announcing the reward have been circulated in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar. Ten special teams are conducting raids in Haryana and neighbouring states.Police said they had traced the location of one accused travelling by train towards Uttar Pradesh and were coordinating with the UP director general of police (Railways) for his arrest.Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, who joined the protest at the mini-secretariat, demanded tougher action against criminals in Haryana on the lines of Uttar Pradesh and urged police to take effective action against those involved in Jeevan’s killing.
