Indian farmers say detentions foil Delhi protest, police say no one held

Security personnel stand guard alongside barricades on a national highway to stop farmers, who are marching towards New Delhi to press for the better crop prices promised to them in 2021, at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Ghaziabad, India, March 6, 2024. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Dozens of protesting Indian farmers were detained en route to New Delhi on Wednesday, forcing them to call off their plan to converge on the capital in their demand for higher crop prices, protest leaders said.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from the northern state of Punjab, launched a "Delhi Chalo" (Let's go to Delhi) march last month demanding higher guaranteed prices for their produce but were stopped by police about 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital.