Haryana youth makes a U-turn, claims he was forced to lie about conspiracy to kill farmer leaders

Earlier, the man when put in front the media claimed that he was part of a conspiracy hatched to kill four known farmer leaders

The row surrounding the surfacing of a masked man at farmers' protest sight on Friday who was accused of being party to a conspiracy hatched to kill four of the farm leaders, took a curious twist on Saturday with the accused denying his earlier statement and in counter, accusing the farmer leaders of forcing him to lie after abducting him.

The Opposition Congress, however, took the turnaround of the youth with a pinch of salt. Party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh wondered about the telecast of the youth's statement who was still in police custody and asked who are those people at whose behest that youth was doing all this.

He termed the incident as the "Destroy and Rule" strategy of the government after its strategy of "Divert and Rule, Divide and Rule and Defame and Rule" failed.

Also Read | Protesting farmer leaders allege conspiracy hatched to kill 4 of them, disrupt tractor rally

On Friday, the protesting farmer leaders at Singhu border, the main protest site, had said the youth, who was later identified as Yogesh was nabbed near the protest site and was part of a conspiracy hatched to kill four of them and create disturbance during their proposed tractor parade in Delhi on January 26.

His face covered with a scarf, the man when presented before the media, claimed that a plan was hatched to shoot four farmer leaders, who are known faces in the media. He had claimed that his accomplices were asked to pose as policemen and baton-charge the crowd during the proposed tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day.

"On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor parade by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner," he had earlier said.

The youth was later handed over to the Haryana Police, who quizzed him.

On Saturday, a video of the youth under police custody surfaced in which the latter alleged that a group of protesting farmers had abducted him five days back, beat him up and on Friday forced to tell a lie before the media that he was part of a conspiracy. He also alleged that one more person is in their captivity.

Meanwhile a cop earlier said in the day, "He was not carrying any arms or ammunition. We are questioning him, but nothing has so far been found that points to any kind of conspiracy, as is being alleged."