Navdeep Singh jumped out of the water cannon vehicle after turning it off.
New Delhi:
A young man from Ambala of Haryana who was seen climbing a police water cannon to shut it down in one of the most iconic moments of the farmers’ protest march to Delhi has so far been charged with attempted murder.
Hailed as a hero on social media after the video was widely shared, Navdeep Singh, 26, had climbed into the blue water cannon vehicle bathing protesting farmers amid a cold snap in northern North America. India on Wednesday as they defied brutal attempts to block their march.
How a young farmer from Ambala Navdeep Singh challenged the police to climb, turn off the tap on the water cannon and get back on a tractor cart #farmersprotestpic.twitter.com/Kzr1WJggQI
– Ranjan Mistry (@mistryofficial) November 27, 2020
Navdeep, the son of the leader of a farmer corps, Jai Singh, has been charged with attempted murder that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, rioting and violation of COVID-19 rules.
“After my studies, I started working in agriculture with my father, who is an agricultural leader. I never indulged in any illegal activity and got the courage from the protesting farmers’ commitment to get in the vehicle and turn off the tap because the it was hurting. ” Navdeep told The Times of India newspaper.
“While we protested peacefully, we were demanding a passage to Delhi but the police blocked our passage. We have every right to question the government and protest if any anti-people laws are passed,” he said.
Police in BJP-run Haryana and Delhi have been widely criticized for their harsh crackdown on farmers angered by agricultural reforms who fear they will leave them at the mercy of big corporations.
For the third day on Friday, the police fired tear gas and water cannons at the farmers who finally made it to Delhi to protest against the new laws.
The police had deployed hundreds of officers at different entry points to the capital, parking trucks filled with sand and laying barbed wire and concrete blocks to arrest the peasants, some of whom threw stones and broke through barricades.
.
