Madhya Pradesh Home Minister takes a U-turn, says famers died due to police firing

Mandsaur, June 8 : Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh on Thursday backtracked from his earlier statement that farmers killed during protests in the state did not die due to the firing by police. Speaking to the media, Singh said that the death of the five farmers was a result of the police firing on Tuesday. “It has been established in probe,” he was quoted as saying. Earlier on June 6, Singh claimed that police did not open fire at farmers. “The anti-social elements from the crowd opened fire and the matter would be probed into, the minister said, adding that policemen had been showing maximum restraint during the last few days of protest. A compensation of Rs 1 crore was announced to the kin of the deceased farmers by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.