Mandya: Mandya district farmers rights protection committee president G Madegowda and Congress MLA M S Atmananda were among 16 leaders remanded to judicial custody till November 14 and sent to Bangalore jail on October 31.

The police arrested some farmers' leaders and M S Siddaraju MLC on October 30 for holding demonstration defying prohibitory orders and produced them on October 31 before Civil Judge B S Rekha at her residence, who remanded them to judicial custody, superintendent of police Malini Krishnamurthy said.

Since the courts are closed in view of the curfew imposed in Mandya city, the arrested were produced at the judge's residence, she said.

Speaking to reporters before being taken to jail, Madegowda charged "the Chief Minister S M Krishna through police rule is trying to crush the struggle of the farmers and declared they would continue the stir "till he (Krishna) resigns".

"Jail bharo programme will be carried out in all the villages in the district," he said.

Madegowda said he would write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee demanding dismissal of Krishna government".

Krishna, who during his recent 'pada yatra' had assured the farmers in Mandya that no water would be released to Tamil Nadu, "should come to Mandya and answer the people now", he demanded.

PTI