Thousands of farmers started marching towards the district headquarters in Karnal, Haryana, on Tuesday evening after union leaders said their talks with the local administration had failed. Farmer unions had demanded action against police officers over the lathi charge against protesters on August 28 in Karnal. Over 10 farmers were injured and one of them died later at night from a heart attack. If the demand was not met, they had warned that farmers will lay siege on the Karnal mini-secretariat — a threat they appeared to be carrying out.

Later in the evening, farmers squatted at the gates of the district headquarters in Karnal. The gherao began in the evening, several hours after farmers from Haryana and neighbouring states reached Karnal’s New Anaj Mandi for a mahapanchayat, riding tractors and motorcycles. “Our talks with administration failed as they did not agree to our demands,” senior farm leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said about three hours later.