BHOPAL: Over 35 people were arrested on Tuesday as violence broke out in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur town over denial of permission to immerse Kali idols in the Narmada. More than a half dozen police constables were injured in the stone pelting by the mob. The police cane charged to disperse agitators, who fought pitched battle with the police in an area of around one km under the Gwari Ghat police station. Several vehicles were torched and damaged in the unrest.
“Six to seven cases of arson, rioting and attempt to murder have been registered against dozens of persons. Out of them over 35 men identified to have indulged in the violence have so far been arrested,” Jabalpur SP Amit Singh said.Heavy police force was deployed to prevent the recurrence of any untoward incident.
Owing to the High Court and the NGT prohibitory order, about 700 Durga idols were immersed on Dussehra in various ponds identified for the purpose by the administration recently.
However, about four Kali idols are immersed in the Narmada three days after Dussehra as an age-old ritual. Tempers rose when followers of one of these ‘pujas’ were stopped at the Gwari Ghat. When one of the vehicles in the procession tried to make its way towards the river by breaking security barricades. Police used mild force, which led to the stone pelting. Violence then spread like wildfire.