Farmer Who Shut the Water Cannon Charged With Attempt to Murder

According to the police, he was trying to run over the barricades with a tractor.

Navdeep Singh, a farmer, jumped on top of Varun – the water cannon vehicle – and turned off the tap. 

(Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

A 26-year-old farmer, who was celebrated as a hero on social media amid a confrontational farmer protest, has been charged with attempt to murder for allegedly breaking a police barricade with his tractor trolley and attempting to run over policemen, Hindustan Times reported, citing police officials.

Navdeep Singh, a Sikh from Ambala district, is a graduate from Kurukshetra University and was protesting along with farmers from over 250 villages.

“The government has charged me with false cases in the past as well, just for taking part in protests,” Navdeep Singh had said to a Punjabi channel when asked if he fears being slapped with cases.

The incident took place on 25 November amid the ‘Dilli Chalo’ farmer protest against the NDA government’s new agriculture laws.

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana who have been protesting against the Narendra Modi government's farm laws had to face heavy police and paramilitary deployment, water cannons, barricades and detentions in their march towards Delhi.

But an iconic video, featuring a young protester jumping on top of Varun – the water cannon-mounted vehicle – and turning the tap off, helping several protesters who were being targeted by it, has been doing the rounds on social media.

(With inputs from The Hindustan Times)