Rohtak, July 8 -- Hansi police on Tuesday arrested the former president of the Haryana Sarpanch Association, Somesh Sharma, for his alleged role in installing an unauthorised T-joint on the under-construction Bhakra pipeline in Chanot village, amid an ongoing protest by the villagers. According to the police, Somesh, a resident of Ghikara village in Charkhi Dadri district, was arrested from the Ramayan Toll Plaza, while he was reportedly on his way to Delhi. The police said that he was produced in the court and was sent to one-day police remand, as police will interrogate him for the source of the T-joint and people involved in it. According to police, Sharma has been booked under Section 324 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The controversy dates back to June 20-21, when Sharma visited the protest site at Chanot village and allegedly announced that the government had accepted the villagers' demand for a T-connection from the Bhakhra pipeline. He claimed that work on the connection would begin immediately. Following his announcement, several elderly protesters ended their hunger strike, while villagers celebrated the development by lifting Sharma on their shoulders. But the next day, public health engineering department (PHED) executive engineer Sanjeev Tyagi claimed that the department had not granted permission for any T-connection. On the night of June 22, the district administration, amid heavy deployment, removed the alleged illegal six-inch T-connection from the pipeline. The operation triggered clashes between police and protesters, leaving several people injured. Subsequently, XEN Sanjeev Tyagi lodged a complaint with the police alleging that unidentified persons had illegally tampered with the Bhakhra pipeline by installing the unauthorised connection. Based on the complaint, Sadar police station registered an FIR against unknown persons and later, the investigation found Sharma's alleged role in the installation of the illegal connection. The arrest comes amid the continued agitation in Chanot village, which entered its 54th day on Tuesday....