Overview
- Five FIRs were lodged over the blocking of National Highway‑7 and the alleged holding of a deputy superintendent of police hostage, with video evidence now being examined to identify individuals.
- Roughly 1,500 personnel secured Bathinda and nearby districts, installing high‑tech checkpoints and resorting to tear gas and lathicharge when demonstrators broke through barricades.
- Preventive detentions were reported across Malwa, including about 59 in Tapa, nearly 100 in Barnala and roughly 250 in Sangrur, with authorities later reopening key routes.
- The Barnala–Bathinda stretch experienced hours‑long traffic snarls as protesters tried to reach the district administrative complex, delaying ambulances and school transport.
- The union’s push centers on freeing leaders Baldev Singh and Shagandeep Singh, who face charges tied to an alleged assault on a DSP, with a fresh regular bail plea due on February 18.