It was arguably the most defining image of the ongoing protest by farmers against the recent agricultural laws passed by the government.
For the past couple of days, a video is viral on social media showing a young protester climbing on top of a water cannon (Varun) and turning off the pipes that were being targeted at the protesters.
The video further showed the young man leaping off the water cannon mounted truck to a vehicle that was carrying protesters as the cop tried to nab him.
The incident took place near the grain market, Mohra village in Ambala district on National Highway 44 on Wednesday.
As the image went viral the young farmer was later identified as Navdeep Singh, son of farm leader Jai Singh of Jalbera village in Ambala.
¡°I climbed on top of water cannon truck from a tractor-trolley and after reaching the tap, I turned it off. A policeman also climbed up while chasing me but by that time, my brother brought his tractor near and I jumped on to it. The police hit me on my legs but I have no anger as they are doing their job and we are doing ours¡±, Singh told The Times of India.
Many hailed him as a hero and lauded his actions. But the drama did not end there as on Friday the 26-year-old was booked under charges of attempt to murder which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, rioting and violation of COVID-19 rules.?
According to The Times of India, Singh is a co-accused along with Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Haryana state president Gurnam Singh Charuni and others, in a case registered at Parao police station.
The police in Haryana has come under heavy criticism for their high handedness and crackdown on the protesters who were marching to Delhi.
Ever since the framers from Punjab began marching to Delhi for their protest, the police in BJP-ruled Haryana had been making it difficult for the protesters to move ahead.
Across key cities, roads were blocked by the police with barricades, containers and concrete blocks to prevent them from marching to Delhi.
At several locations, the police also resorted to using water cannons and tear gas against the farmers.
The police had also prevented them from crossing the border to Delhi for nearly two days before the Central government finally agreed to let them enter the national capital on Friday afternoon.