BHOPAL: The Khargone district police on Wednesday announced awards of Rs 10,000 each on 106 absconding men in connection with the April 10 Ram Navami communal violence. But the order was withdrawn later. The men on whose arrests the bounty was announced include Nawaz and Mohsin, against whom National Security Act has been invoked.
Explaining the decision to withdraw the notice, Khargone district PRO Pushpendra Waskale said, “The list has been withdrawn as it was erroneous. A fresh list will be released later,” he said. According to IPS officer Ankit Jaiswal, who is posted in Khargone, 63 cases have so far been lodged across Khargone district, out of which 57 have been registered in Khargone town. “So far 159 persons have been arrested based on video footage and eye witness statements.” Jaiswal added the police have got a crucial lead in the April 10 killing of local municipality staff Ibarish Khan.
Two men identified as Waseem alias Mohsin and Irfan, have been booked for the attack on Khargone SP Siddharth Chaudhary, who sustained bullet and sword injuries. Chaudhary, his gunman and vehicle driver were injured in the attack on April 10 evening.
In the aftermath of the communal clashes, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has asked the state police to revamp intelligence-gathering and ensure that upcoming festivals are passed off peacefully. “By when can you submit a detailed plan for streamlining the present intelligence system into a robust one,” Chouhan asked additional director general (ADG-Intelligence) Adarsh Katiyar at a meeting
of top police officers.
“There should be zero tolerance towards communal violence. You’ve handled the Hanuman Jayanti-related events and processions very well. Now, you’ve to ensure that Parshuram Jayanti and Eid also pass off peacefully,” Chouhan told the cops. The CM’s order, seen as an admission of the police’s failure to foresee the violence during Ram Navami, comes at a time when opposition Congress has been mounting attacks on the BJP government over its failure to rein in rioters.