‘The police simply raised their lathis to disperse the mob when the situation started going out of control’
Farmers who arrived in Ballari on Monday for purchasing chilli seeds for sowing were lathi-charged and dispersed.
As per information available, hundreds of farmers thronged the city for purchasing chilli seeds produced by Syngenta and the scarcity of the seeds caused overcrowding.
A video clip of police personnel dispersing a mob went viral later in the day. It was learnt that trouble began after the distributor who was assigned to sell seeds declared closure for the day though a large number of farmers were still standing in queue to purchase seeds.
However, the district authorities denied that the police resorted to any lathi-charge.
“There was no lathi-charge, as there was no need for it. The police simply raised their lathis to disperse the mob when the situation started going out of control,” Deputy Director of Horticulture S.P. Bhogi told mediapersons.
The…