BHOPAL: Four days after an additional district court in Bhind ordered that Madhya Pradesh minister Lal Singh Arya's name be included among the accused in Congress MLA Makhan Jatav murder case, senior Congress leaders protested outside the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's residence in Bhopal on Tuesday demanding that the minister be sacked from the council of ministers.
Congress leaders, including leader of Opposition in state assembly Ajay Singh and ex-ministers Arif Aqeel and Dr Govind Singh, protested outside the CM's residence. They were, however, later taken into preventive custody by the police along with 127 other supporters who were trying to move towards the CM’s house from other parts of the state capital.
"We came here as we wanted to meet the CM over minister Lal Singh Arya's matter. But instead of allowing us to enter the CM’s house, the police misbehaved with us. Why is the CM shying away from removing Arya from council of ministers when the court has made him an accused in the Congress MLA murder case?” asked Ajay Singh.
Refuting allegation of misbehaviour with any Congress leader, additional SP (ASP) Rajesh Chandel said while three senior Congress leaders were taken into preventive custody near Akashwani, 127 other Congress supporters (including 20 women) were also taken into preventive custody and released later.
Earlier on Monday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists had protested outside the house of the MP minister Lal Singh Arya in Bhopal, demanding his resignation.
On May 19, MP minister of state for general administration Lal Singh Arya was included among the accused in the 2009 murder case of Congress MLA Makhan Jatav on the order of the special judge (SC/ST atrocities) in Bhind district.
The court had also issued an arrest warrant against Arya, but later stayed the execution of the warrant till June 3, 2017, following a plea by minister's lawyer Avdhesh Singh Kushwah for grant of time to challenge the court's before the High Court.