Protesting
farmers broke police barricades and marched on to various central Delhi
locations as their ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade’ took a violent turn on Tuesday,
with a large group of protesters barging into the Red Fort and hoisting a flag atop its ramparts.

The flag was
the ‘Nishan Sahib’, a symbol of the Sikh religion, commonly seen at Gurudwaras.

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A triangular flag, the ‘Nishan Sahib’ is sacred to the community and includes
an emblem, comprising ‘Khanda’ – a two-edged sword, ‘Chakra’ – a disc – and two
‘Kirpans’ – traditional Sikh swords – crossing each other at the hilt.

Traditionally,
the post on which the flag is hoisted itself is covered with fabric and ends
with a two-edged dagger on top.

Thousands
of protestors deviated from designated routes for the tractor rally, against the three central farm laws, in Delhi and entered several locations in the
heart of the national capital, including ITO, where Delhi Police is headquartered,
and the Red Fort.

Overwhelmed
and outnumbered, police had to resort to lathicharge and fired tear gas
shells to disperse the agitators and drive them back towards the borders. The
violence led to the death of one farmer, apart from injuring at least 83 police
personnel and the destruction of public property.