The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of Punjab’s largest farmer organisations, has launched state-wide protests outside police stations over the alleged forcible removal of Daljit Singh’s body by the police. The protests are underway at 48 locations across the state, BKU leader Shingara Singh said, adding that a contingent of protesters was leaving Barnala to join the agitation.Daljit Singh, a resident of Bhamme Kalan village in Sardulgarh, died under mysterious circumstances. His family and supporters were trying to take his body to the protest site near the Mansa Deputy Commissioner’s residence, where an agitation is underway over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, when the police allegedly took it away on Tuesday.The protests will be held from 11.30 am to 4 pm on Wednesday, senior union leader Jhanda Singh Jethuke said. He demanded that the body be handed over to the family without delay.“The body of the deceased must be handed over to the family without any delay. It is their prerogative to decide how and when they want to cremate him. Why should the police interfere?” Jethuke said in a video message.He urged farmers and union members to set aside their other engagements and join the demonstrations, saying the organisation would mobilise its supporters across Punjab against what it described as police excesses.The union has also announced that a large contingent of its supporters will head to Mansa to join the ongoing protest by Jhota’s family and supporters.The developments come amid tension in Mansa, where Daljit Singh’s family has alleged that he died of a drug overdose and claimed that drugs were easily available in the district. His body is currently at AIIMS Bathinda.The family has demanded that its right to decide on the last rites be respected. The BKU Ekta Ugrahan’s mobilisation is expected to widen the agitation, with protests planned outside police stations across the state over the handling of the matter.