New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) The killing of three farmers in police firing in Maharashtra figured in the Rajya Sabha Friday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding the suspension of the guilty officers.

"The responsible police officers must be suspended and justice done to the farmers," BJP's Prakash Javadekar said, raising the issue in zero hour.

Stressing that the farmers had been targeted and killed, he said: "The televisions showed a farmer was being dragged behind a car and then fired at.

"It is a sign of insensitivity of the Maharashtra government and police, it is a barbaric act," he said.

"Had this encounter taken place in some other state, the guilty officers would have been punished," he added.

The firing at Maval, near Pune, led to three farmers being killed. A raging row erupted after video footage Thursday showed some policemen aiming their guns and shooting at unarmed protesters.

The farmers were protesting against the release of water from the Pavana dam for a drinking water project in the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad.