The Madhya Pradesh Police on Sunday (July 19, 2026) morning cleared the site where several tribals have been protesting against the Ken-Betwa river link and other irrigation projects for over two weeks in Chhatarpur district, and moved the protest leader, Amit Bhatnagar, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 days, to a hospital.
The action in the early hours of Sunday comes a day after the Delhi Police, in a similar move on Saturday (July 18, 2026), forcibly removed activist Sonam Wangchuk from his Jantar Mantar protest site on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike and shifted him to a hospital.
VIDEO | Madhya Pradesh police removed protesters and ended the 'satyagraha' that was launched against the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other irrigation schemes.
The protest, mainly by tribal women, was being held on the banks of the Barana river near Kupi village in Chhatarpur… pic.twitter.com/8cyMPglsJm
The Madhya Pradesh Police also dismantled the protest site on the banks of Barana river near Kupi village, and removed the symbolic pyres put up by the demonstrators, with officers saying the decision to bring them out of water was taken due to rising water levels after heavy rains in the area.
Several protestors, however, refused to move, accusing the police of forcing them out and assaulting women. Videos also showed police personnel dragging women away from the shore as well as some policemen forcing Mr. Bhatnagar into an ambulance.
The area had received heavy rains for the past two days, causing the river to overflow, and the action was taken to prevent any untoward incident as the demonstrators included women, children and elderly people, Chhatarpur Collector Parth Jaiswal told The Hindu.
Mr. Bhatnagar has been admitted to the Bijawar Civil Hospital and his vitals signs are stable, Mr. Jaiswal said.
“We had also received information from the weather department about more rains in the coming days. This is why the police arrived at the site around 5 a.m. and held dialogues with the protestors. But they went and stood in the middle of the river, which is why the police had to surround [them] and bring them out,” he said, adding that the protestors were dropped to their villages in Panna district in buses.
“We have also noted down their concerns and shared them with the Panna administration. Doctors are also monitoring Amit Bhatnagar’s health,” Mr. Jaiswal said, denying charges of assault and forcible removal.
“He (Mr. Bhatnagar) had been protesting here for many days so a team of doctors had come here with the police and the administration for his basic medical check-up. He himself was interested in this and had contacted [the authorities] that his health was deteriorating a little. So, a team of police force, doctors, and administration came here and he has been peacefully sent to the hospital,” Chhatarpur Additional Superintendent of Police Aditya Patle said.
The women at the protest site had been dropped to their homes in buses, Mr. Patle said.
“This is an under-construction bridge here and the water levels of the river are also rising due to rain. This place is not safe so they were moved from here,” he said, adding that the protesters “cooperated” with the authorities.
However, videos emerged from the scene showing protestors, mostly women, holding each other in attempts to cross the river amid heavy water flow even as personnel ask them to come ashore. Protestors were also heard alleging forcible removal by the authorities.
In the hospital, Mr. Bhatnagar said that the police action came on a day when he was planning on “revealing the details of ₹400 crore corruption” related to the compensation process. The police had forcibly taken him to the hospital, he alleged.
“My health was not that bad. My indefinite hunger strike continues. I will not break it. If I am forced, I will not drink water or even breathe,” he said, denying the police claims that he was brought with his consent. He also accused the police and authorities of insensitivity towards women protestors.
Residents of several villages, mostly tribals from Panna and Chhatarpur districts, had been protesting on the banks of the Barana river near Kupi village for nearly two weeks against the ₹44,000-crore project of the Union government, and various State irrigation projects, with several demonstrators tying nooses around their necks and lying on makeshift pyres in the river in a symbolic protest.
The unique demonstration, with the slogan of ‘nyaya do varna maar do‘ (either give us justice or kill us) that had been first carried out in April, was relaunched earlier this month after discussions and efforts by the government failed to convince the villagers.
Their demands include improved rehabilitation and compensation packages, and the addition of people allegedly left out of the displacement survey.
Earlier on Saturday, the Delhi Police forcibly took Mr. Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar in the national capital. The educator and activist from Ladakh, along with the Cockroach Janta Party and its supporters, has been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in several examinations.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Umang Singhar slammed the police action while alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “has made suppressing every dissenting voice its governing mode”.
The Congress leader demanded the immediate release of all the detained protestors, including Mr. Bhatnagar, while also seeking an independent probe into the allegations related to the Ken-Betwa project.
“Asking questions in a democracy is not a crime, but the BJP government has made suppressing every dissenting voice its governing model. The government fears those protesters who do not fear the government. The government chose the path of suppression over dialogue,” the Congress leader said on social media platform X.
“The BJP government must understand that democracy runs not on sticks and arrests, but on dialogue and the Constitution. The way action has been taken on peaceful protests over two consecutive days is a clear signal that the country is being pushed not towards democracy, but towards dictatorship and an atmosphere of fear,” Mr. Singhar said, comparing the action in Madhya Pradesh to that of the Delhi Police against Mr. Wangchuk.
Published - July 19, 2026 11:52 am IST