After the communal riots in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, the Shivraj government is in full action mode. So far 24 FIRs have been registered in the case. Along with arresting 95 people, 60 houses of stone pelters have also been demolished. On the other hand, local people claim that there was a clash between the two communities five hours before the riots. But the administration did not take strict steps at the right time. The police also did not apply additional force in the evening.
Claim to have less police force at the time of incident
According to Ramesh Gupta, a local shopkeeper, the procession of 17 tableaux was leaving the sensitive area of Talab Chowk. Minor skirmishes had already taken place here. A total of 5000 people gathered, but the number of policemen was only 50-60. Ramesh told that Raghuvanshi society had taken out a procession on Ramnavami in the morning. The organizers had an argument with members of the local Muslim community when the procession passed near a mosque in Talab Chowk. Then the police had dispersed the people by lathi-charge. In the evening, a local saffron organization took out a procession of 17 tableaux from Talab Chowk. Songs were being played on the DJ. Then suddenly stone pelting started on the procession. The police drove the people away from there. Tear gas shells were also fired, but by then news had spread in the area and violence broke out in half a dozen areas. Local resident Rafiq Khan says that it was an unfortunate incident. People were throwing stones and petrol bombs at each other. Inside the houses women were screaming for help. He said that I had never seen such a tense atmosphere. Tension prevailed in the area due to the brutality of the police, he said.
SP said – we had got the situation under control
At the same time, Khargone’s SP Siddharth Chaudhary denied all these allegations. The SP, who sustained a leg injury during the riot, said that sufficient force was deployed in the area. He said the procession was going peacefully, but some people threw stones at the procession. Some policemen were also injured in this stone pelting. The SP said that we used force to control the crowd and also fired tear gas. According to the SP, control had been established in the area on a large scale, but the news of quarrels reaching other places increased the tension there. SP Siddharth Chaudhary said that the situation was completely under control in Talab Chowk at 7 pm on Sunday, but there were reports of clashes in other areas. He told that after this he ran towards Sanjay Nagar where a man was going to attack people with a sword in his hand. The SP told that I stopped the person with the sword, but the other person walking with him hit me in the leg. He said that how and why the incident happened, it will be ascertained in the investigation. But some fueled the tension.
FIR against more than 240
Khargone DIG Tilak Singh said that till Tuesday evening, 24 FIRs have been registered against more than 240 people. Of these, 22 FIRs were registered on Monday evening, while two were registered on Tuesday by the Madhya Pradesh Home Department after setting up a tribunal for compensation. The state government has also issued a notification in this regard. Retired district judge Shivkumar Mishra has been made the chairman of this tribunal, while retired secretary Prabhat Parashar is a member. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh has held a high level meeting in CM House regarding this. According to the DGP, so far 95 people have been arrested in Khargone riots. At the same time, heavy police force including RAF is deployed in Khargone. On the third day also the demolition of the houses and shops of the miscreants continued. The hotel of former Congress councilor Ali Sheikh was demolished on Tuesday. Apart from this illegally built hotel on Khandwa Road, a bakery and two other illegal constructions were also demolished. In-charge SP Rohit Keswani said that Ali Sheikh was not guilty of stone pelting or rioting. But in the past, a case was registered against him for spreading tension in the area. We are probing his role in the case.