India, Jan. 30 -- The vegetable market near Dana Mandi on Bahadurke Road turned into a flashpoint of unrest on Thursday after farmers accused parking staff and contractors of running an illegal extortion racket and assaulting cultivators who resisted the unlawful collections. The allegations triggered a protest by farmers, which was later withdrawn following the intervention of Punjab Mandi Board chairman Gurjeet Singh.

The agitation was led by farmer leader Dilbag Singh, who, along with scores of cultivators, announced a sit-in against the contractor and parking staff operating outside the vegetable market. The farmers alleged that illegal tax was being collected brazenly and that those refusing to pay were being threatened and even phy...