On Friday, clashes broke out at Delhi’s Singhu border as a large mob crossed over police barricades and threw stones at farmers who have been protesting against the government’s new agriculture laws for just over two months. Several ground reports from the area show goons vandalising farmers’ tents and demanding that the area be vacated.
The violence was sparked by people claiming that protestors masquerading as farmers had insulted the Indian national flag at the Red Fort during a tractor rally on Republic Day. They asserted that protestors had replaced the tricolour with Sikh flags even though several fact-check articles had noted that this had not happened.
A plethora of media outlets covering the clashes at Singhu border has identified the mob as locals.