One farmer has died as protesting farmers clashed with police at ITO in the heart of national capital. Thousands of protesting farmers, who entered into Delhi with their tractors this morning, also poured into the Red Fort complex by afternoon, prompting security personnel to resort to lathicharge and tear gas.
The police have managed to remove them from inside the fort using batons. Outside the fort, tractors took over the Ramlila Maidan, the site where the farmers had originally planned their protest. The farmers have blamed "anti-social elements" for the violence.
A high level meeting is underway at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence where he is being briefed about today's situation. The Home Secretary and Delhi Police Commissioner are in attendance.
Internet services have been temporarily suspended in some parts of Delhi amid clashes between the police and thousands of agitating farmers, whose tractor rally veered off the permitted course, news agency ANI has reported.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has closed the entry and exit gates at several metro stations, mainly in north and central Delhi as the situation escalated.
"We came here to deliver a message to the Modi government, our job is done. We will go back now," one of the farmers told NDTV at the Red Fort. "We managed to reach the Fort even though they tried to stop us. We will not stop till we reach our goal -- the repeal of the three farm laws," a farmer said.
In earliers visuals from ITO, one of the main intersections in Delhi near media offices and the police headquarters, policemen in riot gear appeared to be outnumbered. The policemen were seen running or hiding behind cars as farmers armed with sticks chased them with sticks and ramming their tractors into the buses parked by police.