Madhya Pradesh
In picture: Farmers in Bhopal stage a demonstration against killing of farmers of Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur on June 7, 2017.IANS

The farmers' protest in Madhya Pradesh took a violent turn on Wednesday with agitators torching vehicles, attacking police personnel and government officials and targeting police stations. This comes after five farmers were killed in Mandsaur after the police fired at the protesters on Tuesday.

Farmers across the state have been protesting since June 1 demanding higher crop prices and loan waivers to help them get rid of huge amounts of debt. 

Here are all the LIVE updates: 

7 pm IST: With the bigger events of the day behind us, but more developments expected tomorrrow, we bring this live update session to a close here. 

6:30 pm IST: Has the Congress found a big issue to corner the BJP with? Rahul Gandhi says the kin of the victims want help, and are demanding that the deceased be called martyrs.

6:15 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi meets the families of those farmers who were killed in police firing on Tuesday. 

5:40 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi has reportedly been released by the police. 

5 pm IST: Curfew has been relaxed in Mandsaur, and people have ventured out to get some fresh supplies. 

4:15 pm IST: "Families of victims are hardly 1 km away from us. They want to meet us but the police are stopping them. We are here only to express solidarity with them and appeal for calm and peace, but the police are using brute force," Congress leader Sachin Pilot tells ANI.

4:07 pm IST: Families of deceased farmers wait outside the circuit house, where Rahul Gandhi has been kept, to meet the Congress vice president. Gandhi has said that he won't seek bail until he is allowed to meet the families.

3:52 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi speaks to family members of the deceased farmers on phone, according to ANI. Sources said that he won't return without meeting the families of the deceased farmers

3:50 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi, who was arrested in Neemuch today, has refused to seek bail, India Today reported.

3:22 pm IST: Curfew will be lifted for women and children in Mandsaur from 4 pm to 6 pm today.

3:05 pm IST: 

"My government is that of farmers, and of the public. I will work for the farmers and the public till my last breath," state CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a public telecast.

"We have now taken multiple decisions in the favour of the farmers. By holding a discussion (with the farmers), the issue can be resolved. But those who try to take advantage of the situation, we will definitely take action against them. Come, let's together make Madhya Pradesh take the path of progress," he added.

2:20 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi has been placed under arrest under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code, India Today quoted the Neemuch SP as saying. The circuit house, where the Congress vice president has beep kept, is designated as a jail. Gandhi is likely to be released on bail soon.

2:05 pm IST: "He (Rahul Gandhi) has been detained. What was the emergency to go there now? He only wants to do politics," state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told ANI

1:54 pm IST: "Narendra Modi can waive loans of the country's rich but can't do so for farmers," Rahul Gandhi told reporters

1:40 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi, following his detention, has said: "The didn't give any reason [for my detention]. They just said they are arresting me. The same thing was done in Uttar Pradesh as well." Local sources say he was taken into protective custody. 

Gandhi told reporters: "Neither do they [the BJP-led MP government] waive loans, nor do they give bonuses. The only thing they give are bullets."

1:20 pm IST: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been detained on his way to Neemuch. Congress workers have also been detained.

12:40 pm IST:

12:38 pm IST: Congress is using the farmers' agitation as a "photo-op", says I&B Minister Venkaiah Naidu dismissing demands for CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation, PTI reported.

12:37 pm IST: "Total 62 people detained, more people are being being identified based on videos and pictures," Superintendent of Police OP Tripathi told ANI.

12:25 pm IST: Rahul gandhi travels to Mandsaur on a motorcycle. Media reports suggest that he chose to ride pillion to dodge the police in Mandsaur. News channels reported that he defied the police barricade and asked the police how they could stop him from entering the district.

12:15 pm IST: At least 62 people have been detained in connection with the ongoing agitiation in Mandsaur, DNA reported.

12:01 pm IST:

11:58 am IST: Town Inspector of Piplia Mandi Anil Singh Thakur has been removed from field duties in connection with the firing on farmers, the police was quoted by PTI as saying.

11 am IST: "Death of the five farmers was due to police firing. It has been established in probe," Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told ANI. 

The home minister had earlier said that the police was not responsible for the death of the five farmers. The state government has also maintained that the farmers did not die in police firing.

10:47 am IST: Protesters vandalised a toll plaza in Mandsaur and looted around Rs 8-10 lakh.

10:22 am IST: "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will not be allowed to visit violence-hit Mandsaur," Neemuch Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh was quoted by PTI as saying.

10:15 am IST:

10 am IST: Rahul Gandhi has reached the Udaipur Airport, from where he will leave for Mandsaur by road.

9:30 am IST: Mandsaur District Collector Swatantra Kumar Singh has been transferred. Om Prakash Srivastava has been appointed the new collector of Mandsaur district.

9:10 am IST: Swatantra Kumar Singh, who was heckled and assaulted by protesters when he tried to pacify them while they blocked the highway, has been removed from his position. Mandsaur Superintendent of Police OP Tripathi has also been transferred.

8:30 am IST: Rajnath Singh had earlier sought a report from the state government and directed it to chjeck the use of social media.

8 am IST: Rahul Gandhi leaves for Mandsaur to meet the family of those killed in the protest despite being denied permission by the state government to visit the district.

7:40 am IST: Bus services disrupted across the state due to the farmers' protest.

7:13 am IST:

The central government sent five battalions of paramilitary forces to Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Centre had sent six battalions to the state so that they could assist the police in controlling the situation.

Around 1,100 anti-riot police personnel were rushed to Mandsaur to help restore peace, and 600 personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) reached the area to assist the local administration, a home ministry official was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.

On Wednesday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take strict action against those spreading unrest in Mandsaur. The state government, meanwhile, insisted that the farmers who were killed on Tuesday during the agitation did not die in police firing.

Chouhan has blamed the Congress for "politicising the protests and instigating violence." Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu also accused the Congress of instigating violence in Mandsaur. "Congress is trying to give it a political twist. I only want to tell them not to politicise the issue...because it will boomerang on you," Naidu said.

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