The main Kotkapura-Faridkot road remained blocked for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as hundreds of farmers, under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), continued their dharna outside the Land Mortgage Bank. The protest has thrown traffic into total disarray across the town, with commuters facing massive jams and forced diversions.
The farmers are steadfast in their demand: they will not lift the siege until the bank returns all blank, signed cheques taken from them at the time of loan disbursal.
The situation turned volatile on Monday evening when a video of a heated verbal confrontation between farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Bank Assistant Manager Rashpal Singh went viral.
When the official attempted to clarify the bank’s position on loan recovery, Dallewal reacted strongly. In the widely shared clip, Dallewal is heard warning: ”If you [bank officials] express anger through a pen, we express it through slaps.”
The exchange has significantly intensified the standoff, with farmers alleging that bank officials use these signed cheques to exert illegal financial pressure and legal threats.
The protest is fuelled by the recent double suicide of two debt-ridden farmer brothers from Harinaeu village, Faridkot, which has sent shockwaves through the region.
On March 23, 2026, Jaskaran Singh (38) and his younger brother Jaswinder Singh (34) died by suicide after jumping in front of the Chhindwara Express near Bahmanwala village. Eyewitnesses reported the brothers were holding hands as they took the fatal step.
The brothers, who collectively owned only half acres of land and farmed another 25 acres on lease, were reportedly crushed under a debt that had ballooned from an initial Rs 5 lakh to nearly Rs 17 lakh (and some reports suggest up to Rs 50 lakh including other liabilities).
SKM leaders claim the brothers were driven to the extreme step due to constant harassment and the bank’s possession of their signed cheques, which acted as a “financial noose.”
The protesting farmers have put forth a list of non-negotiable demands which include all blank, signed cheques held by the bank must be returned to the farmers. A complete loan waiver for the family of the Harinaeu, government jobs for the widows of the deceased and financial security for their family and immediate halt to all coercive loan recovery tactics and land auctions.
While the bank has yet to issue an official statement, the district administration is reportedly in talks with farmer unions to clear the highway.
