BHOPAL: A major political unrest broke out in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh over Sunday’s incidents in Biaora town of Rajgarh district when the CAA supporters who were taking out a rally sans permission were they were lathi-charged by the police. Also, district collector Nidhi Nivedita and deputy collector Priya Verma reportedly slapped some of the party workers for 'misbehaving'.
A day after the violent incidents, an opposition BJP team headed by ex-MP minister and present Narela-Bhopal MLA Vishwas Sarang visited Rajgarh district on Monday.
“It’s not the CAA supporters, including our BJP workers who took law in hands by violating Section 144 of CrPc clamped in Rajgarh district. Instead, it’s the district collector and her deputy who took law in their hands by slapping and thrashing peaceful BJP workers and leaders. After permission was denied to take out rally in support of CAA on Sunday, the CAA supporters were singing bhajans inside a temple’s premises. It was then that siren blaring police and administration vehicles arrived there and our people were assaulted there,” Vishawas Sarang alleged.
He further alleged, “in the first place prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of CrPc were not violated. But if any case the prohibitory orders were violated then the violators should have been booked u/s Section 188 of IPC. Who gave the district collector and her deputy the right to take law in their own hands by assaulting the peaceful protesters.”
The former minister further alleged,” not only were the peaceful protesters thrashed by the collector, her deputy and other officers and cops. The collector and her deputy even snatched the national flag being carried by the peaceful protesters and disrespected the flag by grounding it. We demand lodging criminal case against all concerned cops and officers under various sections, including those pertaining to sedition against the collector and her deputy.”
While informing that the party would complain against the Rajgarh district collector Nidh Nivedita to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in the central government, a similar complaint will be made against the state administrative service officials to the state government’s general administration department. “We’ve set January 22 as the deadline for the cops to register a case against collector and deputy collector. Our senior leaders, including state party chief Rakesh Singh and ex-CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be here on Wednesday to press for lodging case against the concerned officials and cops,” said Sarang.
He also alleged ex-CM Digvijaya Singh’s hand in the entire episode. “Entire assault by officials and cops in Biaora town of Rajgarh on Sunday was scripted by the ex-CM, who is now protecting those officials.”
Earlier, in the day, the ex-CM Digvijaya Singh had tweeted “The hooliganism of BJP people has been exposed in the manner in which the district collector and deputy collector were assaulted and pulled through the hair by the hooligans. We’re proud of the brave women officers.”
Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, former CM and BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced visiting Biaora town of Rajgarh district along with other senior party leaders on Wednesday to press for registering case of sedition against the district collector and her deputy, as the duo officers had thrashed BJP workers chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai and also disrespected national flag being carried by the peaceful protesters.
On Sunday, CAA supporters taking out a rally sans permission of local administration had reportedly clashed with cops and officials in Biaora (Rajgarh). While trying to prevent the violent CAA supporters from going ahead, the district collector Nidhi Nivedita and deputy collector Priya Verma had also slapped BJP workers. Also, those in the crowd had allegedly pulled the deputy collector’s hair, kicked her and pulled her through her clothes. Several BJP workers were subsequently hurt in police cane charge.
Two cases have so far been lodged in connection with Sunday’s incidents. While over 600 unidentified and identified persons, mostly BJP leaders and workers have been booked u/s 188 of IPC for violating the prohibitory orders, two persons have been booked u/s Section 353 and 354 of IPC for misbehaving with the women officials. One person identified as BJP worker Bhupendra has been taken into custody in connection with the second case, while 17 others were arrested in connection with the first case.