arrested. They were immediately dumped into a police jeep and driven to some undisclosed place. The buses were already parked along the roadside and one by one they were getting filled with the farmers courting arrest. As soon as one bus was filled up, it would drive away and the second bus would start filling. By 10 am, nearly 150 buses were packed with the farmers and were driven away to different prisons. Magistrates were waiting and were granting each person fourteen days police custody without any discussion. The men were being kept in the prisons at Bellari and Gulbarga while the women were kept at Vijapur prison. While all farmers were courting arrest peacefully, suddenly the police got aggresive. Nobody could tell what the provocation was but police began to thrash all farmers irrespective of the age or gender. Many farmers were bleeding. Some young farmers who hitherto had been bearing the police lathis without any resistance, were now losing their temper. Some of them picked up the stones lying along the road and started hurling them at the police. It was almost as if police were waiting for that. They declared that the mob was getting out of control and began firing teargas shells. But they were less effective since a strong wind was blowing across the two sides of the highway. Moreover the women began to pour handfuls of soil over the shells making them ineffective; a trick they just spontaneously learnt on their own without anyone teaching them. To further intensify their action, a fresh batch of about 300 policemen was pressed into action. Lathi charge began with greater vigour and stone-pelting also began as a reaction. That continued for a few more minutes and then a new batch of policemen came forward and started firing indiscriminately. Farmers hit by the bullets were collapsing on the road. Those farmers who could escape the bullets began running helterskelter across the highway into the fields around. Police started chasing them and then beating them with lathis. Smouldering Tobacco in Nipani
Q
149
