Ghaziabad (UP), February 22 A farmer leader is alleged to have been placed under house arrest by the police in Tronica City here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to nearby Meerut, his supporters said.
The alleged house arrest has sparked protests from local farmers, even though the police have denied detaining the farmer leader who has been demanding greater compensation for land acquired in six villages.
A key stretch of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will be inaugurated by the prime minister on Sunday in Meerut, which is about 50 km from Ghaziabad.
Tyagi's supporters said the farmer leader was detained at his residence around 8 pm on Saturday. Photographs shared by him with the media purportedly show a sub-inspector and two other police personnel at his home.
However, police denied that they have detained farmer leader Neeraj Tyagi. "Tyagi has not been kept in detention. Police personnel might have gone to meet him," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Loni) Siddhartha Gautam.
Tyagi has been spearheading a protest over the past several years, demanding higher compensation for land acquired in six villages by the Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad.
Farmers alleged that two days ago, when senior Ghaziabad district officials met protesting villagers to defuse tensions, Tyagi confronted them and refused to budge on the compensation issue.
