BHOPAL: Over 100 persons, mostly ruling BJP leaders and workers were hurt, some of them critically, in clashes with opposition Congress workers and subsequent police cane-charge in Khurai town of MP's Sagar district on Thursday..
While six BJP workers sustained multiple fractures, three of them including ex-municipal councilor Vinod Rajhans sustained head injuries and have been rushed to Bhopal for life saving treatment. The condition of Rajhans is stated to be critical. A magisterial probe has been ordered in the entire episode and the in-charge of Khurai police station has been suspended.
The violence between the workers of the two parties, ensued by police cane charge happened in Khurai town, while two separate of processions of the rival political parties were on way to submit memorandum to local SDM over recent damaging of a selfie point.
Khurai is the assembly constituency of MP's former home minister and present urban development and housing minister Bhupendra Singh.
On January 17, a selfie point built by the local municipality was damaged. The local police had booked eight persons, including some Congress workers for the incident.
Three days back, the local Congress leadership had announced to submit memorandum to local administration against registering of FIR against its workers. As announced, the Congress workers led by ex-MLA Arunoday Chaube carried out a procession to submit their memorandum to local SDM.
At the same time, ruling BJP workers led by Lakhan Singh Thakur (nephew of local MLA and cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh) also moved in a procession to the Khurai Tehsil, demanding arrest of those booked by police in the selfie point damage case.
Police force in strength twice prevented the confrontation between the two processions, but the two parties workers clashed with each other, when the processions reached near the SDM Office and Tehsil premises.
With both mobs indulging in stone pelting, the police finally had to resort to indiscriminate lathi charge.
Irked over the violence and subsequent cane charge, local MLA and cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh protested along with party workers.
Both, the cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh and ex Congress MLA Arunodaya Chaube alleged that their party workers were attacked by workers of the other party. The Congress leader demanded judicial probe into the entire incident.
Chaube alleged that the injured included at least 15 Congress workers.