Himachal BJP chief among 100 booked for violating prohibitory orders in Sirmaur
A man of different faith reportedly eloped with a woman on June 4; on Friday, protesters began moving towards the man’s house when people from the other side resorted to stone-pelting, which the protesters retaliated, forcing cops to resort to lathicharge
Nearly 100 protesters, including BJP state president Rajiv Bindal and Paonta Sahib MLA Sukhram Chaudhary, were booked on Sunday for assembling in front of Majra police station in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, defying prohibitory orders. Sirmaur additional superintendent of police Yogesh Rolta confirmed the filing of FIR against Bindal, Chaudhary and several others who were present in the crowd on June 14.
When contacted, Rajiv Bindal said that he would comment after getting all details of the case. Police had issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in four villages — Kiratpur, Malion, Fatehpur and Missarwala — in Paonta Sahib area until June 19 after 10 people were injured in stone-pelting on Friday evening. The stone-pelting followed protests after a 19-year-old man from Kiratpur village eloped with an 18-year-old woman from different faith in a nearby village under Majra police station limits on June 4.
The girl’s family had lodged a complaint, but even after 10 days, no action was taken. Hindu organisations and local people have been protesting for the last few days, demanding strict action against the “abductor”. On Friday, they blocked the Nahan-Paonta highway at Majra, about 25 km from Nahan, for about an hour.
On Friday evening, as an angry crowd of protesters began moving towards the eloped man’s house, locals from the other side resorted to stone-pelting, which the protesters retaliated. Subsequently, police resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control.
Paonta Sahib DSP Manvendra Thakur said four persons were arrested for attacking cops in Kiratpur on Friday. A 36-hour dharna, set to be led by Bindal in Majra area, was postponed on Saturday after the eloped man and woman were traced.
