Balaghat effect: Minister announces suspension of 10 cops at BJP conclave
Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh on Wednesday said 10 police personnel, including an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), were suspended for allegedly beating RSS pracharak Suresh Yadav in Balaghat district recently.
Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh on Wednesday said 10 police personnel, including an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), were suspended for allegedly beating RSS pracharak Suresh Yadav in Balaghat district recently.
Singh made the announcement on the first day of the BJP state executive council meeting at Gwalior, after Madhya Pradesh BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan asked the home minister to clarify on the September 25 incident. Chauhan reportedly sensed trouble at the start of the conclave, when some of the ministers sought amendments to the political resolution on his government’s achievements.
“The ministers could have alleged bureaucratic high-handedness, embarrassing the chief minister,” a party leader said.
The Balaghat incident occurred when Javed Khan, a local resident, complained to the Baihar police that Yadav had hurt his religious sentiments by posting provocative material on social media. Following this, the RSS pracharak was allegedly summoned to the police station by in-charge Zia ul Haq and beaten up in the presence of ASP Rajesh Sharma.
Though Yadav escaped and hid in a nearby medical store, he was allegedly dragged out and assaulted again. Later, local RSS activists stormed the police station – forcing the administration to lodge a case against Sharma and Haq.
The police station in-charge and the ASP were among those suspended, the home minister said. An FIR was also lodged against them under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, among others. However, nobody has been arrested in this connection until now.
Singh said while nine of the accused were suspended immediately after the incident, the government took some time to act against Sharma because the director general of police was conducting an inquiry.
Later, in a conversation with HT, the home minister said the police had no right to assault Yadav. The RSS pracharak, who suffered severe injuries in his head and internal organs, has been referred to Jabalpur for further treatment, he added.
Singh said stringent action would be taken against the cops to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya had denounced the incident on Tuesday, describing it as an “unpardonable act”.