AMRITSAR, March 25 -- Farmers affiliated with the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Tuesday laid siege to railway tracks at two places and blocked the national highway in the Majha region to protest against the forced removal and detention of nearly 70 farmers, including leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, from the Ram Tirath road bypass protest site.

The Punjab Police on Tuesday launched a crackdown on the farmers protesting at the Ram Tirath road bypass.

Farmer leader Gurcharan Singh Chabba said the police forcibly detained the protesting farmers and cleared the dharna site.

The police action was carried out around 5 am, two days after the protest began on Sunday.

"Police presence near the protest site had been increasing since l...