Even media persons were not spared and at least two of them were assaulted by the farmers.

Police resorted to a cane charge and tear gas to disperse the violent mob.

The farmers, however, claimed that the police charge on them was unprovoked. They said that farmers were pulled out of buses and trucks, beaten up and detained.

The farmers were protesting against a move by the Punjab government to allow unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). Farmers in Punjab enjoy free power, all of which is subsidised by the state government.

They have also been demanding higher remuneration for their crops and compensation for crops damaged due to lack of monsoon this year.