On 26 January 2021, farmer unions protesting against three farm laws held a Republic Day tractor parade into Delhi on routes agreed with the police. Some groups left the routes, clashed with police at ITO, Nangloi and elsewhere, and a crowd raised a Sikh religious flag and union flags on the Red Fort. One protester died at ITO, police said 394 personnel were injured, and the cases that followed included charges against actor Deep Sidhu and the "toolkit" case against Disha Ravi.
Key takeaways
- Delhi Police allowed a tractor parade from the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border sites after the official parade; some groups started early, broke barricades and left the agreed routes.
- Navreet Singh died at ITO. Police say his tractor overturned after hitting a barricade; his family alleged in the Delhi High Court that he was shot first.
- The Samyukt Kisan Morcha called off the parade, blamed "antisocial elements", named Deep Sidhu and the KMSC, and alleged a government conspiracy.
- Police blamed union leaders for breaking their undertaking and charged Sidhu and 15 others with a conspiracy to capture the Red Fort.
- Disha Ravi was arrested in the toolkit case and bailed within ten days, with a judge calling the evidence "scanty and sketchy".
Background
Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, had camped at Delhi's border points since late November 2020, demanding repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee of minimum support price PTI via Onmanorama. Talks had failed, and the unions had rejected an offer to suspend the laws for 18 months Al Jazeera.
On 23 January SKM member Abhimanyu Kohar said after meeting senior officers that Delhi Police had allowed a "kisan parade" from Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri, starting after 12 pm once the official Rajpath parade ended. A police spokesperson said talks were in their "final stages". Punjab unions said more than two lakh tractors would take part PTI via Onmanorama. Delhi Police later said it had told the unions in writing that there should be "no more than 5,000 tractors" and no weapons such as swords The Quint.
What happened on 26 January
Police had blocked routes with barricades and trucks. Farmers set out before the permitted time, and police used tear gas and batons Al Jazeera. In west Delhi, farmers broke barricades at Nangloi Chowk and headed for the Peeragarhi flyover, off the agreed route Gulf News. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), not part of the SKM, had rejected the routes. Its leader Satnam Singh Pannu said: "We differed from the union's routes and instead we broke barriers and reached the Ring Road." He said his group did not go to the Red Fort Scroll.
At ITO, police said a group from the Ghazipur and Singhu borders broke barricades and "even tried to run over the policemen". At the Red Fort, police said protesters "broke the gates" and a section climbed the rampart "where they hoisted their organisation's flag" The Quint. Flags went up on the domes and on the flagstaff where the prime minister unfurls the national flag on Independence Day PTI via Deccan Herald. One was the Nishan Sahib, a Sikh religious flag Scroll.
Much of the parade was peaceful, with people serving water and food to the marchers Al Jazeera. The Home Ministry suspended internet in Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri, Mukarba Chowk, Nangloi and adjoining areas from noon to midnight Bar and Bench.
Timeline
Routes broken, death at ITO, Red Fort entered
Clashes at Nangloi, ITO and the Red Fort; one protester dies The Quint.
SKM calls off parade
It condemns the violence and dissociates itself from "antisocial elements" Scroll.
Rival press conferences
Police blame union leaders; the SKM alleges a conspiracy Down To Earth.
Ghazipur ultimatum
Rakesh Tikait refuses to vacate and supporters pour in Scroll.
Deep Sidhu arrested
Held in the Red Fort case PTI via Tribune.
Chargesheet filed
3,224 pages, 16 accused PTI via Tribune.
The death at ITO
The man who died was Navreet Singh of Dibdiba village, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, reported as 25 to 27 years old, who had recently returned from Australia PTI via EastMojo.
Claim · Delhi Police Police said he was driving fast, the tractor overturned after hitting barricades, CCTV showed no officer fired, and protesters kept the body on the road for five hours instead of taking him to hospital. Police said the post-mortem showed a head injury consistent with a road accident PTI via Tribune.
Claim · Family His grandfather, Hardeep Singh, sought a court-monitored SIT probe in the Delhi High Court, alleging Navreet was shot in the head before the tractor overturned LiveLaw. Lawyer Vrinda Grover said two witnesses saw him shot Scroll.
The court ordered the X-ray plate and post-mortem video handed over and a medical board formed LiveLaw. The board found skull and facial fractures and "no metallic radio-opacity suggestive of foreign body", and gave no definitive opinion on foul play. Two senior doctors told The Caravan the post-mortem described gunshot wounds The Caravan. No final ruling on the petition was found.
Both accounts
Farmer unions' account
The SKM said: "Despite all our efforts, some organisations and individuals have violated the route and indulged in condemnable acts. Antisocial elements had infiltrated the otherwise peaceful movement" PTI via Onmanorama. Leaders alleged police barricaded the agreed routes while letting protesters onto the Ring Road. Balbir Singh Rajewal said the KMSC had announced its Red Fort march days earlier and asked: "Why didn't the police stop them?" Yogendra Yadav said: "I apologise to the nation on behalf of the Kisan Morcha. We condemn the actions by Deep Sidhu, KMSC and others" Down To Earth. Joginder Singh Ugrahan blamed Sidhu and Lakha Sidhana for inciting the youth Scroll.
Police and government account
Commissioner SN Shrivastava said: "The time and the routes for the tractor rally were finalised after several rounds of meetings. But farmers drove tractors off the routes and before the fixed time, leading to vandalism in which many police personnel were injured" The Quint. He said 394 personnel were hurt, some in ICU, and that leaders including Satnam Singh Pannu and Darshan Pal had not kept to the routes The Quint. The chargesheet alleged a conspiracy to capture the fort as a new protest site, timed for Republic Day to tarnish the government's image PTI via Tribune.
Claim · Deep Sidhu Sidhu admitted raising the Nishan Sahib but said: "We did not make any separatist announcements there." He had been BJP MP Sunny Deol's election agent in 2019; Deol said his family had no association with Sidhu Scroll.
FIRs, arrests and the Red Fort case
By 27 January police had 25 FIRs, 19 arrests and 50 detentions. FIRs named union leaders including Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Yogendra Yadav, Medha Patkar and Rakesh Tikait, though The Quint noted they did not accuse them of a specific role The Quint. By 28 January there were 33 FIRs and lookout notices against 44 people PTI via Deccan Herald, and by May, 43 cases and over 150 arrests Tribune.
Sidhu got bail on 16 April, the judge warning against making "an example" of a public figure Deccan Herald. He was re-arrested on 17 April on an Archaeological Survey of India FIR and bailed again on 26 April PTI via Tribune.
The 17 May chargesheet named Sidhu and Lakha Sidhana among the main alleged conspirators Tribune, with charges including attempt to murder, dacoity and conspiracy; a magistrate took cognisance in June LiveLaw. Courts bailed several accused; one judge held that "mere presence and climbing on wall" could not justify further jail LiveLaw. Sidhana got anticipatory bail in July 2021 PTI via Tribune. Sidhu died in a road accident near Sonepat on 15 February 2022 Tribune.
The toolkit case
On 4 February 2021 Delhi Police registered an FIR under sedition, promoting enmity and conspiracy sections against unnamed creators of a "toolkit" that Greta Thunberg had shared The Leaflet. Government's position Special CP Praveer Ranjan said the document was linked to the pro-Khalistan Poetic Justice Foundation and that the 26 January events showed a "copycat execution" of its plan PTI via Onmanorama.
Disha Ravi, 22, was arrested in Bengaluru on 13 February Gulf News. On 23 February Judge Dharmender Rana bailed her, citing "scanty and sketchy evidence" and finding "any call for any kind of violence is conspicuously absent" in the toolkit The Leaflet The News Minute. He found no evidence linking her to the 26 January violence DT Next.
Citizens are conscience keepers of the government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind the bars simply because they choose to disagree with State policies.
ASJ Dharmender Rana, bail order, 23 February 2021 (The News Minute)
As of February 2023, no chargesheet had been filed, Ravi's counsel told the Delhi High Court, which asked the Centre for a status report South First.
Outcome
- Deaths: One protester, Navreet Singh, at ITO. Cause disputed.
- Injuries: 394 police personnel, per Delhi Police. No official count of injured protesters was found.
- Cases: 25 FIRs by 27 Jan, 33 by 28 Jan, 43 by May 2021, per police.
- Arrests: More than 150 by May 2021, including Deep Sidhu.
- Chargesheet: 3,224 pages, 16 accused, filed 17 May 2021.
- Internet: Suspended at five border and city locations for 26 January.
- Toolkit case: Disha Ravi arrested and bailed in February 2021; no chargesheet as of February 2023.
- The movement: The border sit-ins continued after the Ghazipur standoff. Parliament repealed the farm laws on 29 November 2021 Scroll.
What is still pending
No verdict in the Red Fort case was found in the reporting reviewed, up to October 2026. Deep Sidhu died before any verdict. No final order on the Navreet Singh petition, and no closure or chargesheet in the toolkit case after February 2023, was found.
Questions people ask
What happened at the Red Fort on 26 January 2021?
A crowd that had left the agreed parade routes entered the Red Fort and raised the Nishan Sahib and union flags on its domes and rampart.
Was the tractor rally permitted?
Yes, on agreed routes from three border sites after the official parade. Police say some groups broke the routes and timing.
How did the farmer at ITO die?
Police say his tractor overturned after hitting a barricade. His family alleged he was shot and sought an independent probe.
Who was Deep Sidhu?
A Punjabi actor whom police called a key conspirator and unions blamed for the Red Fort breach. He died in a road accident in February 2022.
What was the toolkit case?
A sedition case over an online protest guide shared by Greta Thunberg. Disha Ravi was arrested and got bail within ten days.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: Chaos as Indian farmers enter Delhi's Red Fort, clash with police, 26 Jan 2021
- Gulf News: One protester dies, internet services suspended, 26 Jan 2021
- PTI via Onmanorama: Over two lakh tractors for kisan parade, say unions, 24 Jan 2021
- PTI via Onmanorama: Samyukta Kisan Morcha condemns violence, 26 Jan 2021
- Bar and Bench: Internet services suspended in parts of Delhi, 26 Jan 2021
- The Quint: Police name 37 farmer leaders in 25 FIRs, 27 Jan 2021
- The Quint: Farm leaders responsible for R-Day violence, claims Delhi Police, 27 Jan 2021
- Scroll: Deep Sidhu led farmers to Red Fort, say farmer leaders, 27 Jan 2021
- Down To Earth: Republic Day chaos a conspiracy, says SKM, 27 Jan 2021
- PTI via EastMojo: Farmer who died at ITO had returned from Australia, 27 Jan 2021
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Crime Branch to probe violence at Red Fort, ITO, 28 Jan 2021
- Scroll: Ghazipur protest site swells after Tikait's appeal, 28 Jan 2021
- The Leaflet: FIR against creators of toolkit shared by Greta Thunberg, 5 Feb 2021
- PTI via Onmanorama: Delhi Police files FIR over toolkit, 4 Feb 2021
- Scroll: Delhi HC asks police for report on plea for SIT inquiry, Feb 2021
- Gulf News: Toolkit case, Disha Ravi sent to one-day police remand, 22 Feb 2021
- The Leaflet: Disha Ravi granted bail in toolkit case, 23 Feb 2021
- DT Next: Court terms evidence against Disha Ravi scanty and sketchy, 23 Feb 2021
- The News Minute: No sedition, no violence in toolkit, says court, 23 Feb 2021
- PTI via Tribune: HC asks UP Police to give X-ray, post-mortem of dead farmer, 4 Mar 2021
- LiveLaw: Delhi HC orders medical board in tractor rally death, 17 Mar 2021
- LiveLaw: Mere presence cannot justify incarceration, court grants bail, Mar 2021
- The Caravan: Navreet Singh X-ray report inconsistent with post-mortem, 18 Apr 2021
- Deccan Herald: Court grants bail to Deep Sidhu, Apr 2021
- PTI via Tribune: Deep Sidhu arrested again hours after getting bail, 17 Apr 2021
- PTI via Tribune: Deep Sidhu granted bail in ASI case, 26 Apr 2021
- Tribune: Chargesheet against Deep Sidhu, 15 others, 21 May 2021
- PTI via Tribune: Police say mob aimed to turn Red Fort into protest site, May 2021
- PTI via Tribune: Court adjourns chargesheet cognisance, sanction awaited, May 2021
- LiveLaw: Court takes cognizance of Red Fort chargesheet, June 2021
- PTI via Tribune: Lakha Sidhana gets bail in R-Day case, 29 Jul 2021
- Scroll: Bill to cancel three farm laws gets President's nod, 1 Dec 2021
- Tribune: Key suspect in R-Day violence Deep Sidhu killed in road accident, 15 Feb 2022
- South First: Delhi HC seeks status of probe against Disha Ravi, 27 Feb 2023