Three held for trying to protest in support of farmers in Shimla

Three men have been arrested for allegedly trying to hold without permission a protest in support of farmers at the Ridge Maidan here on Tuesday, police said.

Karandeep Sandhu, Harpreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh from Punjab's Mohali and Chandigarh were arrested under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) sections 107 (apprehension of breach of peace) and 151 (arrest to prevent cognizable offences) as they had no permission either from the Home Department or from the deputy commissioner to hold the protest, a police spokesperson said.

Himachal Congress president Kuldeep Rathore visited the Sadar police station to meet the arrested men. In a statement, the state Congress chief said they supported the farmers' demand for repeal of the three new agri laws.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) state president Vijendra Mehra and its general secretary Prem Gautam hit out at the state government over the arrests.

In a statement, they said they would send CITU groups from Shimla, Hamirpur and Kullu on January 24 to each of the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh to spread awareness among the people against the three farm laws.