To protest the lathi charge SKM gives call to block all roads and highways till 5 p.m. which was later extended till the release of arrested farmers. Roads are blocked at around 90 locations across the state. Seven arrested farmers are released late in the evening and the roads open [26]. Next day farmers’ organizations in Punjab give a call of blocking roads from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to protest the brutal lathi charge. Black day is observed across the country to condemn the police repression on farmers. One farmer, Sushil Kajal, 50, who was severely beaten up in the lathicharge and had received multiple injuries dies later in the night, allegedly succumbing to these injuries. Family members of Sushil say that when he reached home in the evening, he was badly injured and there were baton marks all over his body. He told his son that many injured farmers could not go to hospital as there was an environment of terror in the city after the lathicharge and all roads inside the city were heavily barricaded. According to Sushil’s son he was found dead on his cot in the morning [27]. Massive and angry protests take place in the following few days in Haryana and Punjab. Farmers’ organizations call a meeting to discuss future plan-of-actions on August 30 in Karnal [28]. Visibly there is anger among the audience and farmers’ leaders who had come to attend the meeting. The meeting decides to gherao the Karnal district secretariat on September 7 demanding compensation of 25 lakh and job for one family member of the martyred farmer, 2 lakh for injured farmers, and filing of cases and action against the responsible officials.
