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Shimla: Kshatriya Sangathan president among 3 held, day after protest
The Shimla Police on Thursday arrested president of Dev Bhumi Kshatriya Sangathan Rumit Thakur and two of his accomplices for their involvement in a violent protest a day earlier in which five police officers were injured.
The Shimla Police on Thursday arrested president of Dev Bhumi Kshatriya Sangathan Rumit Thakur and two of his accomplices for their involvement in a violent protest a day earlier in which five police officers were injured.
Thakur, along with his accomplices Madan Thakur and Deepak Chauhan were arrested from a hotel in Shogi, where they were staying. They have been booked for attempted murder, rioting and damage to the public property among other offences.
Their location was traced after they went live on Facebook late on Wednesday, after which the police raided the hotel and arrested them, said Shimla superintendent of police Monika Bhutungru.
Activists of Devbhoomi Kshatriya Samaj Sangthan and Swarn Samaj had on Wednesday held a protest against Himachal Pradesh government demanding reservation in government jobs for the upper caste. Swarn Samaj members had planned a sit-in outside the state secretariate, but police had stopped them in Shoghi.
Agitated over police action, the protesters went on a rampage and entered into a scuffle with the police, leaving five cops injured including Shimla additional superintendent of police. They also defied prohibitory orders and broke the barricading. Few of them also pelted cops with stones.
The police resorted to mild cane-charging to disperse the protesters, who were keen to enter Shimla. Their protest led to long traffic snarls on Shimla-Kalka national highway. The protesters, who had reached Shimla, blocked the Shimla-Dhalli bypass road for more than seven hours.
